Astronomer gets Chris Martin's ex-wife Gwyneth Paltrow to 'answer' questions after Coldplay controversy
This comes after the company's now former-CEO was mired in controversy after being seen at a Coldplay concert with the firm's HR head.
Paltrow, who is a popular actor, says in the video that she has been hired on a "very temporary" basis to answer common questions that people have been asking on the internet.
While the star doesn't actually answer any questions or address any real concerns that netizens may have conveyed earlier, the actor does redirect the conversation to the products that the firm already offers.
Watch the video below:
Thank you for your interest in Astronomer. pic.twitter.com/WtxEegbAMY
— Astronomer (@astronomerio) July 25, 2025
Just last week, Astronomer's CEO Andy Byron put in his resignation, according to a statement issued by the tech company.
The company said on X, "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."
"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," they said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Arabian Business
22 minutes ago
- Arabian Business
Bosses, burnout and business: Mental fatigue at ‘alarming rates' among CEOs globally, posing risks to company wellbeing
Burnout among CEOs and high-ranking corporate individuals is on the rise in recent years, led by several factors that have fundamentally reshaped the role of a corporate leader. Between navigating a pandemic and steering companies through geopolitical and economic shocks, the demands on company leaders have been intensified, and the toll is starting to show. Globally, CEO burnout has emerged as a serious risk to leadership effectiveness and corporate stability. And while this has been long acknowledged in markets such as the US and Europe, new evidence shows that business leaders in the Middle East are also experiencing comparable, if not higher, levels of stress and fatigue. According to Deloitte's 2024 Well-Being at Work survey, 71 per cent of C-suite executives globally revealed that they would consider leaving their jobs for roles that better support well-being. Additionally, DDI's Global Leadership Forecast 2025 revealed that nearly one in six leaders is facing burnout. 'Burnout is hitting leaders across industries at alarming rates,' said Stephanie Neal, Director of DDI's Center for Analytics and Behavioral Research. 'Our data shows that leaders in education, healthcare, and technology are under the most strain, putting organisations at risk of losing high-potential talent and seeing performance decline.' In the Middle East, a PWC Middle East CEO survey found that nearly 50 per cent of regional CEOs expect to change their business models in the next three years to remain viable, with over 40 per cent admitting that they struggle to balance transformation demands with personal well-being. The new pressures on leaders Experts say the convergence of several factors has made the modern CEO role more demanding than ever. Beyond the traditional responsibilities of revenue growth and shareholder value, today's CEOs are also expected to lead on sustainability, diversity, AI adoption, and corporate social responsibility. In most cases, this is all under heightened scrutiny from regulators, investors, employees, and the public. Public scrutiny in the digital age is far more relevant than in previous years, a recent example is of US-based tech company Astronomer's ex-CEO Andy Byron, who has been under severe public scrutiny after videos of an encounter with a female co-worker at a Coldplay concert went viral on social media, forcing him to quit his role in the company. 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. Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and… — Astronomer (@astronomerio) July 19, 2025 Since the incident, Astronomer released a public statement stating, 'Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.' Bimo Ningthoujam, Director of Wellness at Kamalaya Koh Samui, in an exclusive interview with Arabian Business, said: 'Even for the most resilient leaders, quiet or subtle burnout may occur. It is not always acknowledged, but becomes apparent when we see emotional exhaustion, withdrawal from active involvement in decision-making or strategic meetings, as well as disengagement from the team, and a sense of depletion even after holidays or breaks.' Reflecting on factors within the last five years, the pandemic exacerbated pressures on company leaders. Lockdowns and the shift to remote work blurred boundaries between professional and personal life. CEOs alongside employees often worked longer hours, shouldered the emotional burden of workforce uncertainty and faced criticism for decisions on layoffs, mandates, and office returns. In the Middle East specifically, the rapid economic diversification from Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 to the UAE's push to be a global tech and finance hub has increased competition and pressure on leaders to deliver transformational change in compressed timeframes. The region's ambitious development strategies has created a unique environment of both opportunity and strain. Executives in sectors such as real estate, technology, hospitality, and energy have had to scale operations dramatically to meet national targets while contending with global headwinds. In 2024, the UAE recorded foreign direct investment flows of over $45 billion, according to the UNCTAD World Investment Report 2025, while Saudi Arabia's economy continues to restructure away from oil. Such growth has elevated the expectations placed on corporate leaders in the region. In a culture where mental health struggles still remain a taboo topic at the leadership level in many companies, an increasing number of private mental health clinics and executive coaches are reporting rising CEOs and senior executives seeking confidential support for stress, insomnia, exhaustion and other stress-related factors. In an exclusive interview with Arabian Business in January, Jane McNab, COO at Harbour Clinic London, said: 'They come from a different world in a lot of cases, so we've created a safe environment for these individuals to get the care that they need away from the eyes of the public away from the weight of expectation.' Due to the high-profile nature of clients, the clinic clarified that strict measures have been put in place to meet the growing demand whilst ensuring complete privacy. 'A lot of the multi-bed facilities, whether it's addiction or mental health, understandably have a lot of restrictions. No phones, no meetings because they have to serve the whole group, for a CEO to disappear for four weeks is really, really costly,' she explained. Understanding the need for leaders to be available whilst receiving treatment, the clinic creates bespoke plans to ensure availability during treatment plans. Clients can keep their phones on (if determined as safe) and attend online meetings. 'Because we recognise that they have to go back into the world and engage with everything again, and we have to balance that they are in treatment, but still need to keep everything afloat outside of treatment,' Clinical Director Shahira Kamal said. Packages are priced at £49,995 to £95,000 per week and includes high living standards, luxury residences, opulent amenities and more. The business impact of burnout Beyond the personal cost, CEO burnout carries clear business risks. According to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2025 report, last year global employee engagement fell, costing the world economy $438 in lost productivity. The report states that leadership engagement is directly linked to team engagement which ultimately affects productivity, business performance and GDP growth. For family-run enterprises, which are dominant in the Middle East, the stakes may be even higher as leadership transitions and succession planning are often less formalised than in public companies. Harbour Clinic London, for instance, has reported a rising demand from ultra-high-net-worth individuals with undisclosed anxiety and depression. 'The extra layer that people from the Gulf and the Middle East add is around shame and secrecy because no one knows. They cannot disclose to their family or their colleagues, there is no support network and they don't seek support online…There is secrecy around it, something they have not spoken about in years,' Kamal explained. Specifically for dynastic families, which account for a significant portion of clientele, McNab attributed mental health struggles to 'lack of purpose that leads to a level of anxiety, shame, and unhelpful behaviour.' Oftentimes, family-run enterprises struggle with the pressures of wealth and influential positions along with a lack of purpose and overwhelming expectations. Globally, a growing number of companies are recognising the need to support leadership resilience through measures such as executive coaching, structured sabbaticals, mental health benefits and broad-level discussions about CEO well-being. As regional economies continue their transformations, the pressure on corporate leaders will likely intensify. Companies that fail to address CEO burnout risk instability. 'Recognising these signs early is essential – not only for the well-being of the leader, but also for the wider organisation – as it offers an opportunity to address the imbalance and help prevent long-term consequences,' Ningthoujam concluded.
Khaleej Times
an hour ago
- Khaleej Times
Nvidia orders 300,000 H20 chips from TSMC due to robust China demand, sources say
Nvidia placed orders for 300,000 H20 chipsets with contract manufacturer TSMC last week, two sources said, with one of them adding that strong Chinese demand had led the U.S. firm to change its mind about just relying on its existing stockpile. The Trump administration this month allowed Nvidia to resume sales of H20 graphics processing units (GPUs) to China, reversing an effective ban imposed in April designed to keep advanced AI chips out of Chinese hands due to national security concerns. Nvidia developed the H20 specifically for the Chinese market after U.S. export restrictions on its other AI chipsets were imposed in late 2023. The H20 does not have as much computing power as Nvidia's H100 or its new Blackwell series sold in markets outside China. The new orders with Taiwan's TMSC would add to existing inventory of 600,000 to 700,000 H20 chips, according to the sources who were not authorised to speak to media and declined to be identified. For comparison purposes, Nvidia sold around 1 million H20 chips in 2024, according to U.S. research firm SemiAnalysis. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said during a trip to Beijing this month that the level of H20 orders it received would determine whether production would begin again, adding that any restart to the supply chain would take nine months. The Information reported after Huang's trip that Nvidia had told customers it had limited H20 stocks available and it had no immediate plans to restart wafer production for the GPU. Nvidia needs to obtain export licenses from the U.S. government to ship the H20 chips. It said in mid-July it had been assured by authorities that it would get them soon. The U.S. Department of Commerce has yet to approve those licenses, one of the sources and a third source said. Nvidia on Monday declined to comment on the new orders or the status of its license applications. TSMC declined to comment. The U.S. Commerce Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Nvidia has asked Chinese companies interested in purchasing Nvidia H20 chips to submit new documentation including order volume forecasts from clients, said one of the sources and a fourth source. KEY PRODUCT IN US-SINO TRADE WAR The Trump administration said the resumption of H20 sales was part of negotiations with China over rare earth magnets - elements essential for many industries and which Beijing had limited exports of as trade war tensions escalated. The decision drew bipartisan condemnation from U.S. legislators who are worried that giving China access to the H20 will impede U.S. efforts to maintain its lead in AI technology. But Nvidia and others argue that it is important to retain Chinese interest in its chips - which work with Nvidia's software tools - so that developers do not completely switch over to offerings from rivals like Huawei. Before the April ban, Chinese technology giants including Tencent, ByteDance and Alibaba substantially increased H20 orders as they deployed DeepSeek's cost-effective AI models as well as their own models. The popularity of Nvidia products in China, despite the advent of rival, albeit less powerful, offerings from Huawei, has been underscored by a boom in repair demand for its other banned GPUS - many of which have been smuggled into the country. After the April ban on H20 sales, Nvidia warned that it would have to write off $5.5 billion in inventories, while Huang told the Stratechery podcast that the company also had to forgo $15 billion in potential sales.
Zawya
an hour ago
- Zawya
S&P, Nasdaq futures edge up amid earnings, UnitedHealth pressures Dow
S&P 500 and Nasdaq futures ticked higher on Tuesday as investors assessed earnings reports from some of the top U.S. companies, while Dow futures lost some steam following a gloomy outlook from heavyweight UnitedHealth. At 06:50 a.m. ET, S&P 500 E-minis were up 17.75 points, or 0.28%, and Nasdaq 100 E-minis were up 110.75 points, or 0.47%. Dow E-minis rose 0.04%, but the gains were capped as healthcare conglomerate UnitedHealth dropped 4.7% in premarket trading following a disappointing profit forecast. Meanwhile, out of 168 S&P 500 companies that have reported, nearly 80% have beaten earnings expectations, according to Friday's LSEG data. But caution lingers, as some of Wall Street's giants feel the sting of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs. United Parcel Service became the latest victim of the tariffs, falling 4% after the delivery company reported lower-than-expected second-quarter profit. On Monday, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq scored fresh record closes amid volatile trading, buoyed by a U.S.-EU trade deal that halved tariffs to 15% and stoked hopes of further global agreements ahead of Trump's looming August 1 deadline. The President has also floated a potential "world tariff" of 15-20% for non-negotiating countries. U.S. and Chinese officials on Tuesday kicked off a second day of high-stakes talks in Stockholm, aiming to cool tensions and avert a deepening trade war between the world's two largest economies. Negotiators are eyeing a possible 90-day extension to the fragile tariff truce brokered in May. Earnings from tech heavyweights Meta, Microsoft , Amazon and Apple are scheduled for later this week, which could test Wall Street's record run. "The easiest gains (on Wall St) have now happened, and any further rise is likely to happen much more slowly," said Thomas Mathews, head of Markets at Capital Economics. "The narrowness of the rally means it may depend especially heavily on "big tech" profit results continuing to paint a positive picture." Spotify tumbled 6.5% after the company forecast third-quarter profit below estimates. The U.S. central bank is set to begin its two-day policy meeting later in the day. While the Fed is expected to leave rates unchanged on Wednesday, traders will closely analyze policymakers' remarks to gauge the timing of future moves. According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are pricing in a 61.7% chance of a rate cut in September. The meetings come amid the White House's campaign on the central bank to lower borrowing costs, including Trump's persistent criticism of Fed Chair Jerome Powell and occasional suggestions to remove him from his position. Investors are now focused on the latest Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) and consumer confidence reports for more clues on the U.S. economy, which continues to show signs of labor market strength—even as some inflationary pressures from tariffs begin to surface. Analysts urge patience, as they await more data before sounding any alarms. Among other earnings-related moves, Cadence Design jumped 7.7% in premarket trading after the chip design software provider raised its annual sales and profit forecast. (Reporting by Nikhil Sharma and Pranav Kashyap in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
