Catherine Sanz

The first definitive account of one of Ireland’s most controversial business stories

Founded in 2009 by the enigmatic Paddy Cosgrave, Web Summit started as a 150-person meet up in Dublin. Within a decade, it grew to a 70,000 gathering of industry leaders. The gravitas of big names and the vibrant atmosphere of the conference would convince leaders of companies big and small that Web Summit was the place to be for experts and more importantly, was worth the price of participating.

But, under the bright lights of its success, Web Summit appeared to unravel. After spending years using social media to target people he disagrees with, and leading Web Summit with what some say was unfettered power for much of this time, in October 2023 Paddy Cosgrave resigned in a storm of controversy following his own online comments. But less than six months later, Paddy has returned as chief executive and embroiled in a series of lawsuits with his co-founders, Web Summit seems to be edging toward some sort of reckoning.

In Drama Drives Interest, journalist Catherine Sanz chronicles the historic rise, fall, and rise again of Paddy Cosgrave and provides the first definitive account of one of Ireland’s most controversial business stories.

Heather O’Sullivan

HarperCollins

Drama Drives Interest: The Web Summit story

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