‘Now a household name': Astronomer's new CEO on company being in the ‘spotlight' after Coldplay kiss cam ‘scandal'

Indian Express

6 days ago

Days after the 'kiss cam scandal' from a Coldplay concert went viral, US tech company Astronomer's new interim CEO Pete DeJoy, in his first statement on Monday, said that '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'.
Even though he would never wish for such an incident to happen 'like this', he added that Astronomer is 'now a household name'. 'The spotlight has been unusual and surreal for our team,' DeJoy said.
The New York-based company landed in controversy after two of its employees— Andy Byron, the former CEO of tech firm Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the company's Chief People Officer— were found embracing each other in a video relayed on a giant screen during a Coldplay concert held in Boston.
'Over the weekend, I stepped into the role of Interim CEO at Astronomer, a company that I've proudly poured my entire professional life into helping build,' DeJoy said in a post on LinkedIn, a day after former CEO Byron resigned from his position following the controversy.
In the viral video clip, two people are seen with their arms wrapped around each other. As soon as the footage of Byron and Cabot was relayed on a giant screen during the concert, they abruptly ducked and hid from the camera. Coldplay Singer Chris Martin is heard saying: 'Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy.'
Further, the new interim CEO said: 'At Astronomer, we have never shied away from challenges; a near-decade of building this business has tested us time and time again, and each time we've emerged stronger. From starting a software company in Cincinnati, Ohio, to keeping the lights on through the collapse of the bank that held all our cash, to scaling from 30 to 300 people during a global pandemic that demanded we do it all without ever being in the same room.'
'I'm stepping into this role with a wholehearted commitment to taking care of our people and delivering for our 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 added.