What to know:
- Andy Byron resigned as CEO after Coldplay concert scandal.
- Board cited failure to uphold company standards.
- Pete DeJoy is interim CEO; Kristin Cabot is on formal leave.
Andy Byron has stepped down as CEO of Astronomer after being seen in a viral concert video that quickly turned into a corporate crisis.
The company confirmed the resignation on July 19 in a public statement, saying, “Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted.”
Astronomer said the decision followed a failure to meet the company’s expectations for executive conduct: “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”
Astronomer’s cofounder and chief product officer Pete DeJoy is now serving as interim CEO, the company said in a statement.
What happened at Coldplay concert?
Byron’s departure comes just days after an awkward video from Coldplay’s July 16 show at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, went viral across social media platforms.
Byron, who is married, was captured on the concert “kiss cam” with his arms around Kristin Cabot, the company’s chief people officer, on the venue’s “kiss cam”. As the camera lingered, Cabot covered her face while Byron ducked out of frame.
From the stage, Coldplay frontman Chris Martin commented, “Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.” The video has since racked up more than 45 million views on TikTok alone.
The company initially placed Byron on leave and launched a formal internal investigation. Cabot is currently on administrative leave pending the outcome of that review.
In a LinkedIn post, the startup clarified that Byron had not made any public statement, despite several fabricated messages circulating online. The company also denied claims that other employees were present in the video: “Byron has not put out any statement and reports saying otherwise are all incorrect,” the post read.
Astronomer, a New York-based software company focused on data orchestration and AI tooling, acknowledged the viral attention but said its priorities remain unchanged:
“Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI. While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not. We’re continuing to do what we do best: helping our customers with their toughest data and AI problems.”
Who is Andy Byron?
Byron, 50, joined Astronomer in July 2023 after previously serving as president of cybersecurity company Lacework. He has over two decades of experience in the tech sector.
He lives in Northborough, Massachusetts, with his wife, Megan Kerrigan Byron, and their two sons. After the video went viral, Megan Byron changed her Facebook display name and later deleted her account, which had been flooded with public comments. Andy Byron’s LinkedIn profile was also taken offline. He has been removed from Astronomer’s leadership page but remains listed as a member of the board.
