CEO resigns after viral video from Coldplay concert
Andy Byron resigned from his job as CEO of Cincinnati-based Astronomer, according to a statement posted on LinkedIn and X by the company on Saturday.
"Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met," the company said in its post on LinkedIn.
The move comes a day after the company said that Byron had been placed on leave and the board of directors had launched a formal investigation into the jumbotron incident, which went viral.
The pair were captured embracing at the Coldplay concert. Image: YouTube
A company spokesman later confirmed in a statement to AP that it was Byron and Astronomer chief people officer Kristin Cabot in the video.
The short video clip shows Byron and Cabot as captured on the jumbotron at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, during a Coldplay concert on Wednesday.
Lead singer Chris Martin asked the cameras to scan the crowd for his Jumbotron Song, when he sings a few lines about the people the camera lands on.
"Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy," he joked.
Internet sleuths identified the man as the chief executive officer of a US-based company and the woman as its chief people officer.
Pete DeJoy, Astronomer's cofounder and chief product officer, has been tapped as interim CEO while the company conducts a search for Byron's successor.
Most concert venues warn attendees that they can be filmed and it is common practice especially when bands like to use performances for music videos or concert films.
Once captured, a moment can be shared widely.
"They probably would have got away with it if they hadn't reacted," said Alison Taylor, a clinical associate professor at New York University's Stern School of Business.
And by the time the alleged identities emerged on social media, it hit a classic nerve around "leaders acting like the rules don't apply to them", she added.
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