Katherine Maher’s appointment comes after Paddy Cosgrave resigned as CEO over his comments on the war between Israel and Hamas.
Katherine Maher, the former boss of Wikipedia, has been named CEO of Europe’s leading technology conference Web Summit.
His appointment comes after Web Summit co-founder Paddy Cosgrave resigned following backlash over his accusations that Israel is committing “war crimes” and violating international law.
Web Summit said in a statement that Maher was selected by the board of directors to lead the company during the transition period and added that she had “the ability to connect the worlds of technology, humanity and dialogue.”
Maher, 40, led the Wikimedia Foundation, the global nonprofit behind Wikipedia, for five years and is also president of messaging platform Signal Messenger.
“I’m excited to join Web Summit because I believe in Web Summit’s mission to connect people and ideas that change the world,” Maher said, according to the company’s release.
She will lead this year’s Web Summit conference, scheduled for November 13-16 in Lisbon, Portugal.
The annual conference attracts many big names from the tech world. But following Cosgrave’s comments on the war between Israel and Gaza, some companies withdrew their participation.
Never again
Cosgrave, an Irish entrepreneur who founded Web Summit in 2009, said on the social media platform Western governments, with the notable exception of the Irish government, which, for once, is doing the right thing.”
“War crimes remain war crimes, even when committed by allies, and must be exposed for what they are. »
David Marcus, CEO of technology company Lightspark, lashed out at Cosgrave on X, saying he was “saddened” by Cosgrave’s “ill-informed stance.”
“You could have taken a more nuanced approach, condemning these atrocities and calling for restraint. That would have been acceptable. You chose to support terrorists. As such, I will never attend/sponsor/speak at any of your events again,” Marcus said.
Saddened by your misinformed position. You could have taken a more nuanced approach, condemning these atrocities and calling for restraint. That would have been acceptable. You chose to support terrorists. As such, I will never attend/sponsor/speak at any of your events again.
– David Marcus (@davidmarcus) October 15, 2023
Multinational companies like Siemens, Intel, Meta and Google have also announced that they will not attend this year’s summit.
Cosgrave’s resignation comes as many students and professionals face backlash for their public views on the war between Israel and Hamas.
Rights advocates say much of the corporate response has downplayed the suffering in Gaza and created an atmosphere of fear for workers who want to express support for the Palestinians.
But Maher wants the focus “to return to what the Web Summit does best: fostering dialogue among all those connected to technological progress.”
“In recent weeks, Web Summit has been the center of the conversation, rather than the host. Its focus was overshadowed by personal comments from the event’s founder and former CEO, Paddy Cosgrave,” Maher said.
“Today, the Web Summit enters its next phase,” she added.
