‘Surreal': New Astronomer CEO speaks out on kiss cam scandal
Astronomer's new interim CEO, Pete DeJoy, has broken his silence after the company's former CEO, Andy Byron, resigned following the viral cheating scandal at a Coldplay concert.
Mr Byron's departure came days after he and HR chief Kristin Cabot were filmed cuddling as the kiss cam focused on them during the rock band's gig in Massachusetts, a moment that quickly spread online and drew international attention to the billion-dollar tech company.
On Monday, Mr DeJoy announced his official appointment as CEO of Astronomer on LinkedIn, enthusiastically noting that the recent events have propelled the company into the public spotlight, making it a household name.
The 30-year-old described the situation as 'unusual and surreal,' adding that the level of media scrutiny Astronomer received is rare for companies operating in the data and AI sector.
'The events of the past few days have received a level of media attention that few companies—let alone startups in our small corner of the data and AI world—ever encounter,' he said.
'While I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name.'
Mr DeJoy added that he would step into the role with a 'wholehearted commitment' to take care of the company's employees and deliver for its customers.
'Astronomer's foundation remains strong, built around the thriving Apache Airflow community. Our opportunity to build a DataOps platform for the age of AI remains massive. And our story is very much still being written.'
He thanked his team for their resilience, adding that the company, 'won't let you down.' Astronomer's new interim CEO, Pete DeJoy, has broken his silence following Andy Byron's resignation. Credit: LinkedIn
The statement follows Mr Byron's resignation on Saturday.
'Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted,' a statement from Astronomer said.
'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 New York-based company said Mr DeJoy, who is their chief product officer and co-founder, would serve as interim CEO prior to a search commencing for a replacement for Mr Byron.
The Coldplay gig was in full swing when Martin spotted the pair on the kiss cam and zeroed in on Mr Byron and Ms Cabot.
'Oh look at these two. Come on, you're okay. Oh, what? Either they're having an affair or they're very shy' Martin said to the cheering crowd.
The pair immediately released their grip and were sent ducking for cover as the realisation dawned that they had been exposed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
SBS Australia
14 hours ago
- SBS Australia
'Genius move': Everyone is raving about new Astronomer ad after Coldplay kiss cam scandal
Gwyneth Paltrow is starring in a new ad for Astronomer. Almost a fortnight after the tech company's married CEO, Andy Byron, was caught on a Coldplay concert kiss cam with his arms around his HR executive Kristin Cabot, Paltrow has been hired as a "temporary" spokesperson for Astronomer. The 52-year-old, who was married to Coldplay frontman Chris Martin from 2003 until 2016, appeared in a short video on Astronomer's social media speaking about the company's strengths. "I've been hired on a very temporary basis to speak on behalf of the 300-plus employees at Astronomer. Astronomer has gotten a lot of questions over the last few days, and they wanted me to answer the most common one," she says in the ad. The first question, "OMG! What the actual f***?", then appeared on the screen in writing. However, she dodged the question and plugged the company's products: "We've been thrilled so many people have a newfound interest in data workflow automation." The next question to Astronomer was, "How is your social media team holding ..." However, Paltrow moved on before the whole question could be asked. "We will now be returning to what we do best, which is delivering game-changing results for our customers. Thank you for your interest in Astronomer," she said. The video was captioned: "Thank you for your interest in Astronomer." Social media users chimed in after the video was released, with tech journalist Neville Lahiru saying: "Getting Chris Martin's ex-wife was a genius move lol." PR and communications consultant Ronke Lawal lauded the move as an "engaging way to handle a PR crisis" and "socially relevant without being too corny and cringe." Another user, Matt Brian, commented: "Marketing genius. Owning the Coldplay kiss cam video *and* hiring Chris Martin's ex-wife? Splendid." At Coldplay's 15 July concert near Boston, a cameraman panned across the crowd and showed Byron and Cabot in an embrace. In a video shared to TikTok, as the couple frantically tried to dodge the camera, frontman Martin could be heard saying: "Oh, look at these two. All right, c'mon, you're okay. "Oh, what? Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy." Both Byron and Cabot have since resigned from the company.
Perth Now
17 hours ago
- Perth Now
Aussies ‘distraught' by super fund collapse
It's been almost five years since Darwin resident Sam decided it was time to switch up his superannuation. Scrolling on social media in 2020, he was met with a post that asked him if he had 'checked his super lately'. Intrigued and hoping to get a little bit more value out of his $250,000 in retirement funds, the 54-year-old chef and veteran decided to take the plunge and switch to another fund. 'I wasn't after anything astronomical, like a million dollars or something,' he told NewsWire. 'I was just basically looking for something that's going to work a little bit better than what I was having at the time.' Darwin-based chef Sam has suffered significant health setbacks after losing $330,000 of his savings. Supplied Credit: Supplied He was hoping to purchase a home to retire in with his super. Supplied Credit: Supplied That's where his journey with First Guardian Master Fund began. About 6000 Australians have invested $590m into First Guardian, which was established in 2019 as a management investment scheme. Investors were advised to roll over their superannuation into a retail super fund, then invest their money into First Guardian. Sam asked his fund adviser to provide an update on his superannuation every six to 12 months. At first, Sam said things were 'working really well', with his $250,000 investment increasing to $330,000 over the span of a few years. However, he soon discovered 'the whole lot' of his money had been transferred to Venture Egg Capital. He said his fund manager encouraged him to stay with the fund despite it being frozen by ASIC. Supplied Credit: Supplied Other customers said they were unaware their funds were being transferred to First Guardian Master Fund despite the details being written in the company's legal documents. First Guardian Master Fund collapsed earlier this year, leaving thousands in the lurch and unsure if they will ever see their money again. In May 2024, Sam said Venture Egg informed him that his assets had been frozen, due to an investigation by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Alarms went off in Sam's head after receiving a call from his fund manager a month later for his annual super check-in, who recommended he stay with the fund as it was 'set up to make an earning potential'. The 54-year-old had invested $330,000 of his savings into the fund, and was now unable to access any of it. The veteran said he was 'distraught' at the thought of losing his money. Supplied Credit: Supplied After his savings were frozen, Sam said his health went into a rapid decline. 'I've been diagnosed with a rare vasculitis disease, so I've got to spend more time in hospital than I do at home,' he told NewsWire. Vasculitis is the swelling of the blood vessels, which can lead to organ and tissue damage. 'I'm at the stage where I'd like to buy a house so I can retire in it,' he said. Sam said he has, instead, had to pick up part-time work as a chef to support himself, now he has nothing to fall back on. He has also been forced to rely to Centrelink for the first time since he was a teenager, and puts all his money into hospital visits, medication and everyday expenses. 'I'm sort of a proud man,' he said, adding he was working in a 'pretty high level management' position before his health deteriorated. 'The knowledge knowing I will not have the retirement I would have liked makes me distraught for my future,' he said. The veteran, who said he had been in war zones for much of his early career, said his stress baseline had increased 'four or five times', and has no ideas if he will ever see his money again. 'Here's me who's supported my country in more ways than one – and freedom for other countries too, fighting for them as well – and here I'm sitting on the bones of my back side sitting there wondering what I'm going to do and what I have to do to get my medication and make sure I get better,' he said. 'I was in Afghanistan – I was all these war-torn areas and these people, they just take it from me.' Victorian nurse Lisa lost $60,000 of her superannuation after the collapse of First Guardian Master Fund. Supplied Credit: Supplied Two years before First Guardian's collapse, Victorian resident Lisa made the decision to move her savings into a different fund. With a few years left working as a registered nurse in San Remo, the 63-year-old was hoping to find a fund that would bolster the growth of her savings ahead of her retirement. 'I was told my super would grow much faster by this 'lead',' she said. They instructed her to make an upfront payment of $4000 for her super to rollover, and was allocated a financial adviser from Financial Services Group Australia, who 'was the one to work out what how to invest my superannuation according to the growth I wanted'. Then in April 2024, she got a call from her adviser, who told her 'something happened with one of the companies'. She then learned $40,000 of her money had been invested into Shield Master Fund, which was subsequently frozen. It was then her financial adviser said 'he didn't know if I would get any (money) back'. After successfully getting in touch with her adviser after he 'no longer (returned) my emails', she discovered $20,000 of her savings had been transferred to First Guardian Master Fund. 'I had no idea I had any money invested in (First Guardian),' she told NewsWire. 'I had seen media coverage of this company's liquidation. When I said this to the adviser, he had no response.' Half of Lisa's retirement savings had allegedly been invested in two management funds which had since collapsed, and she had nowhere to go. 'I have not been offered any kind of compensation or, in fact, heard from anyone involved in the set up of my super portfolio,' she told NewsWire. 'I have now lost $60,000 – half my superannuation.' The nurse said she had no idea her money was being invested into First Guardian. Supplied Credit: Supplied FTI Consulting liquidators Paul Harlond and Ross Blakely, who released their preliminary report into First Guardian, said they 'intend to undertake further investigations', including the determination 'whether any breaches of the Corporations Act or any other laws have occurred by any party … or any other circumstances exist, which may give rise to a potential claim by investors'. In their report, the liquidators said they were 'seeking compensation on behalf of members of the fund for losses suffered', which could be as high as $446m. However, they also hold fears investors may never see their funds again. Their assessment found the 'overall recoverable value of the investments is likely to be considerably less than their combined book value' and a 'substantial shortfall of recoverable assets to outstanding investor funds will therefore likely arise in the liquidation'. In the report, the liquidators said 'a large proportion of investors in the (First Guardian Master Fund) invested through investment platforms', adding the recovered funds may not be as high as hoped. ' … the liquidators consider the value of the assets may have been overstated in the accounts,' the report read. 'It is very likely that some of the funds' assets/investments are not recoverable or will not recover their full ascribed value. Indeed, significant shortfalls to book values are expected.' Thousands of Australians have invested into the management funds. NewsWire / Simon Bullard. Credit: News Corp Australia An ASIC spokesman said its 'first priority has been to preserve any remaining assets of the scheme so they can be recovered for investors'. 'Following concerns raised by ASIC, the Federal Court appointed liquidators to Falcon Capital and ordered the wind-up of First Guardian and its related funds in April. The court also restrained David Anderson a director of Falcon from dealing with his assets and appointed a receiver to his personal property. 'ASIC's investigation suggests that potential consumers were called and referred to personal financial advice providers who advised consumers to roll their superannuation assets into a retail choice superannuation fund, and then to invest part or all of their superannuation into First Guardian. 'While ASIC's investigation is ongoing, the Federal Court has made interim travel restraint orders against Falcon Capital director David Anderson on ASIC's application. 'The Court also made interim orders freezing the assets of another Falcon director, Simon Selimaj and restraining his travel. Those orders are in place until 27 February 2026.' No charges have been laid. To those impacted, the spokesman said they 'understand the circumstances surrounding First Guardian are distressing for those affected' and it was 'one of ASIC's priorities to investigate what has happened'.
Sydney Morning Herald
21 hours ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The Gen Z billionaires who are bored with business
The family that ran India's largest luggage maker for more than half a century is packing it in, with control of Mumbai-based VIP Industries passing to private equity. 'What do I do?' chairman Dilip Piramal, 75, wondered aloud in a TV interview after announcing the sale. 'The younger generation is not interested in management.' Piramal isn't the only ageing businessperson to have run out of successors. 'Today among the scions of some of the most affluent families of India, someone is an artist, someone wants to be a sportsman, someone wants to run a small restaurant. There's nothing wrong in that. It's the modern trend, people want to do their own things,' he said. Two hundred years ago, that 'modern' trend among young people used to be enterprise. That's when families like Piramal's began to spread out of the Marwar region in land-locked northern India to take advantage of British-controlled trading opportunities in the port cities of Bombay and Calcutta – now Mumbai and Kolkata. Cotton, jute and opium sold to China provided the seed capital to the Marwari business community for everything from textile mills to cement factories. By the early 20th century, these emerging industrial empires were large enough to challenge the colonial masters and their commercial interests. The likes of Ghanshyam Das Birla openly supported Mahatma Gandhi's campaign for independence, even as they outran rivals like Andrew Yule & Co. The Birla House in Delhi, a prominent hub for the freedom movement, was also where Gandhi was assassinated. As the sway of family firms continued after India's 1947 independence, it was believed that newer generations would always be available to take over the reins. Below the surface, however, the link between ownership and management has been weakening for some time. Piramal's daughter, Radhika, a Harvard University MBA, was the chief executive officer for a few years before quitting in 2017 and relocating with her spouse to London. Her same-sex marriage is not legally recognised in India. The luggage maker was back to being in the care of professional managers, a double-edged sword considering that a rival firm set up by a former managing director is now three-fifths bigger than VIP by market value. The heirs of prominent business families – Millennial and Gen Z billionaires – are setting their own life goals. It's the sensible thing to do. In a labour-surplus economy, access to capital through clan networks and strategic marital alliances was family-run firms' core advantage. But via public markets and private equity, finance is now available to a much wider section of entrepreneurs. Risk-taking has been democratised. That frees up younger members of business dynasties to try new things. Someone recently asked the singer-songwriter Ananya Birla on social media if she was from the family behind India's largest-selling cement brand. She is indeed the great-great-granddaughter of Ghanshyam Das Birla. But from financial inclusion among rural women to a recently launched beauty brand, the 31-year-old Oxford graduate has her own interests that are independent of the sprawling commodities behemoth led by her father.
