New CEO of Web Summit Katherine Maher has family connections to this Tipperary town

The new CEO of the Web Summit, Katherine Maher, has Tipperary roots.

Ms Maher, 40, took over from Paddy Cosgrave, who resigned from the position last month following comments on the Hamas - Israeli war.

Though born in Connecticut in the US, Ms Maher’s roots on her father’s side are in Templemore.

Ms Maher was previously chief executive of Wikipedia for five years. She is also the chair of messaging platform, Signal Messenger.

Ms Maher is a non-resident Senior Fellow on Democracy and Technology at the Atlantic Council and a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

She is also a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader and a security fellow at the Truman National Security Project.

Ms Maher takes over at the company just two weeks ahead of its main flagship conference in Lisbon.

Following Mr Cosgrave’s comments, a host of companies and celebrities pulled out of the summit.

On taking up her appointment, Ms Maher said: “Our immediate task is returning the focus to what we do best: delivering dialogue among all those connected with technological advancement.”

Along with her Tipperary connections, Ms Maher also has links to Roscommon where her mother’s family hails from.