CEO resigns after getting caught on Coldplay kiss cam with HR boss

Daily Mail​

5 days ago

The Astronomer CEO caught getting cozy with a coworker at a Coldplay concert on Tuesday has resigned amid an investigation into the scandal. Andy Byron, 50, who was caught on camera at the concert with his arms wrapped around the company's HR chief Kristin Cabot, is revealed to have resigned from the company after being placed on leave on Friday. The billion-dollar company announced the CEO's resignation in a statement on Saturday.
'As stated previously, 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 statement said. 'Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted. The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO.'
'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.'
Byron and Cabot were caught red-faced as the kiss-cam at a Coldplay concert in Boston panned to Cabot wrapped in her boss's arms on Tuesday. The pair immediately ducked and turned from the cameras after realizing their faces were on the big screen. Chris Martin, the band's frontman, cracked a joke that contributed to the stir of rumors over the couple's awkward reaction. 'Oh look at these two! Oh what? Either they're having an affair, or they're just very shy,' Martin said to the crowd.
It is unclear exactly when the pair tied the knot, but the documents confirm that Cabot, whose maiden name is Stanek, was married at the time of selling a $1.8m property in Watertown, Mass., earlier this year. Privateer Rum's website lists Andrew Cabot as its CEO and COO of the company, and public documents show that he has been married at least twice before, in 1993 and 2014. He shares two children with his first wife Maud, who shared a picture of her ex-husband with Cabot looking loved up at his daughter's 25th birthday party on social media in April of last year.
Cabot even posed with his son Henry, 30, in the snaps, and was seen wearing a wedding ring at the event – which was missing during her cozy Coldplay date with Byron. Byron is also married, with his wife Megan Byron removing his last name from her social media accounts shortly after the exchange with Chris Martin went viral. It comes after AI-tech start-up Astronomer said they have launched a formal investigation into the moment of intimacy. 'Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability,' they said in a statement. 'The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly.'
When Cabot joined the firm as HR boss in November 2024, Byron heaped praise on her, saying she would be a 'perfect fit' at his company. 'Kristin's exceptional leadership and deep expertise in talent management, employee engagement, and scaling people strategies will be critical as we continue our rapid trajectory,' he said in a press release at the time. 'She is a proven leader at multiple growth-stage companies and her passion for fostering diverse, collaborative workplaces makes her a perfect fit for Astronomer.' Byron's firm is valued at over $1 billion, with the company experiencing rapid growth since he became CEO in 2023.