Related Post
Web Summit announced the appointment of Catherine Maher as its new CEO, after the resignation of its former director due to the criticism he faced due to his position on the “Gaza War.”
Maher’s appointment comes at a sensitive time for the company, which is preparing for its famous conference in Lisbon in two weeks.
“In a world where technology is intertwined in every aspect of our lives, and in a future where technology represents our greatest hope and our greatest threat, the role of the Web Summit as a place for communication and dialogue is more important than ever,” Maher said.
“Our immediate mission is to return to focusing on what we do well, which is providing dialogue among all people associated with technological progress,” she added.
Who is Catherine Maher?
For the past five years, Maher has served as CEO of the Wikimedia Foundation, the global non-profit organization that sponsors Wikipedia, and she currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the messaging platform Signal Messenger.
Maher has held many positions in various fields of technology, and is known for her ability to bridge the technical and humanitarian aspects. She participates as a non-resident fellow in the field of democracy and technology at the Atlantic Council, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a young fellow at the World Economic Forum. She is also a Security Fellow at the Truman National Security Project.
While at the Wikimedia Foundation, she oversaw content for more than a billion monthly users, led a global volunteer force of nearly 300,000 people in 75 countries, and managed an annual budget of $140 million.
During her tenure, she doubled annual fundraising, achieved the first growth in readership and user contributions in a decade, and significantly expanded the platform’s presence in emerging markets.
Under her leadership, Wikipedia has achieved the highest public trust rating in the organization’s history, and has set a broad strategic direction for the future, with a particular focus on platform innovation, machine learning, demographic diversity, and new markets.
Maher replaces co-founder Paddy Cosgrave, who… He resigned after criticism Which was directed against him because of his statements on social media about the war on Gaza. This led to a number of well-known sponsors withdrawing from supporting the upcoming conference in Lisbon, and a number of speakers at the conference withdrew, which prompted him to resign.
Cosgriff so far owns 81% of the company behind Web Summit.
Other changes affecting the company
Along with appointing a new CEO, the company has also appointed Damian Kimmelman as a non-executive director. He is a co-founder of Al-Bidaya Company in the field of technical education.
In her first comment on Damian’s appointment, Maher said, “I am thrilled to have Damian Kimmelman join Web Summit’s Board of Directors. In addition to his impressive track record as a founder, Damian will bring invaluable insights to the global technology community that will define our shared future.”
“I have attended Webb Summit for the past 10 years, and I keep coming back because it is where I built many of my most important business relationships,” Kimmelman said.
“I believe strongly in Web Summit’s mission to help make meaningful connections that change the world, and I look forward to working with Catherine and the Web Summit team to achieve this and supporting the dialogue that will ensure Web Summit remains the world’s leading technology conference,” he added.
Web Summit is the world’s largest technology event, connecting people and ideas that drive change.
