Andy Byron, CEO of tech firm Astronomer, has resigned after being caught on a Kiss Cam at a Coldplay concert in an awkward moment with his company’s Chief People Officer, Kristin Cabot.
The incident — which quickly went viral — showed Byron ducking behind a seat and Cabot covering her face after the camera zoomed in on them. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin joked to the crowd:
“Oh, look at these two… either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
Leadership Scandal
Byron’s relationship with Cabot was not previously disclosed, and the moment led the company’s board to launch a formal investigation earlier this week.
In a Saturday statement to Fox News, Astronomer said:
“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”
The board accepted Byron’s resignation. Co-founder Pete DeJoy, currently Chief Product Officer, will serve as interim CEO while the search for a new chief executive begins.
Company Responds to Publicity
Astronomer acknowledged the viral fallout, writing:
“Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space… While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not.”
The company says it remains focused on helping clients with data and AI infrastructure and plans to move forward under new leadership.