Andy Byron, CEO of U.S.-based tech firm Astronomer, has stepped down following a viral controversy stemming from an intimate moment with a colleague caught live on the Kiss Cam at a Coldplay concert in Boston.
The incident, which rapidly made international headlines, has led to significant public and internal scrutiny.
In a formal statement released on LinkedIn, Astronomer confirmed Byron’s resignation and acknowledged that “standards were not met.”
“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability. Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted,” the company said, adding that Co-founder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy will serve as interim CEO while a global search begins for a permanent replacement.
The Incident That Sparked It All
The controversy began when Byron was seen embracing Kristin Cabot, the company’s Chief Human Resources Officer, during Coldplay’s live Kiss Cam segment. As the camera zoomed in on them, they were seen abruptly parting. Byron ducked his head while Cabot covered her face—moves that were widely interpreted as signs of guilt. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, reacting in real time, quipped the couple was either “too shy” or “having an affair.”
A second video surfaced where Martin nervously said, “Oh s**t, I hope we didn’t do something bad.”
Social media erupted. Adding fuel to the fire was the revelation that both Byron and Cabot are married to other people.
Investigation & Fallout
The Astronomer Board placed Byron on leave and launched a formal investigation into the alleged affair. Amid growing backlash, the company issued a clarification stating that no other employees were involved in the video and specifically denied the presence of Alyssa Stoddard, their Senior Director of People, who was initially speculated to be part of the trio seen.
Meanwhile, Byron’s wife, Megan Kerrigan, appeared to react publicly by removing Byron’s surname from her Facebook profile before deactivating the account entirely.
Impact on Company & Reputation
Byron had taken over as CEO in 2023, later bringing Cabot on board in November 2024. In a now-deleted LinkedIn post, he described her hiring as a “transformative” moment for the company.
Astronomer, which operates in the DataOps and AI space, emphasized in its statement that their mission remains unchanged:
“While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for customers have not. We remain focused on helping our clients with their toughest data and AI problems.”
