Astronomer CEO Andy Byron resigns after Coldplay concert saga
"Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted," Astronomer said in a statement.
"Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met."
Astronomer says it will begin searching for its next chief executive as the company's co-founder and chief product officer, Pete DeJoy, serves as interim CEO.
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Perth Now
3 hours ago
- Perth Now
‘Standards': Coldplay kiss cam CEO cheat resigns
A Coldplay concert in Boston is the setting for an awkward moment on the Kiss Cam, revealing a secret affair between the CEO of a software startup and his HR department head. The CEO of a billion dollar tech giant in the US has quit his job after being caught in an embrace with the company's head of HR on the kiss cam at a Coldplay concert. Andy Byron has stepped down from his role as the head of Astronomer after being caught having an affair with Kristin Cabot, who is also a senior executive at the business. Both Mr Byron and Ms Cabot are currently married, and the clip of the two ducking for cover as lead singer Chris Martin called them out to the crowd at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, has gone viral. 'Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted,' a statement from Astronomer said 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 New York-based company said their chief product officer and co-founder, Pete DeJoy, would serve as interim CEO prior to a search commencing for a replacement for Byron. 'Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI,' the statement said. '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.' 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. The moment the couple were caught on camera. Credit: Unknown / TikTok '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. Mr Byron is married to Megan Kerrigan Byron, have two children and reportedly live in New York. Ms Byron's Facebook page now shows that she has dropped her husband's surname, and has been deleting social media posts relating to the couple after a mountain of comments spilled through after her husband's cheating was outed at the concert. Ms Cabot is currently married to Andrew Cabot, the CEO and COO of Privateeer Rum, a Massachusetts-based alcohol distillery, based in Massachusetts, The video has prompted millions of reactions online. One user on X wrote, 'Taking the side chick to a Coldplay concert and getting exposed for it by the band itself and it going viral is crazy work.' 'I hope his wife divorces him and takes him for everything he has,' another wrote. Astronomer is a software development company reportedly valued over $1 billion ($AU1.5b).

News.com.au
9 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘Zoom in': Australian celebrities Lisa Wilkinson and Hamish Blake spoof viral ‘kiss cam' drama
A pair of Australian celebrities, Lisa Wilkinson and Hamish Blake, have hilariously spoofed the moment an American tech CEO was caught hugging a woman who was not his wife at a Coldplay concert. Wilkinson and Blake were in the audience for one of the stops on American stand-up comedian Nikki Glaser's tour of Australia. And all individuals involved apparently decided to have some fun. During her set, Glaser offered up her own version of the kiss cam that caught out Andy Byron, CEO of the company Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the business's chief people officer. 'Let's see if we have one more we can find. Can we zoom in?' Glaser asked as the camera focused on Blake and Wilkinson, who were pretending to be intimate. 'Is that ... is that ... is that Hamish and Lisa!? Oooooh, busted! Someone call Zoe right now. What the f***?' Blake is, of course, married to author and entrepreneur Zoe Foster Blake. Wilkinson is married to the former rugby player Peter FitzSimons. The clip of Mr Byron and Ms Cabot enjoying Coldplay's performance together, then ducking for cover upon being shown on the big screen, has gone viral this week. The scandal ended with Mr Byron resigning from his role at Astronomer. 'As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding,' the company said in a statement. '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.' Co-founder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy is serving as interim CEO. The video of Mr Byron and Ms Cabot quickly went viral after being shared on TikTok. 'Either they're having an affair, or they're just very shy,' Coldplay's lead singer Chris Martin quipped to the crowd. 'Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI,' Astronomer said. '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.' Mr Byron's job reportedly paid him between $717,000 and a million dollars per year, plus performance-based bonuses.