Latest news with #ChiefPeopleOfficer
Yahoo
20 hours ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Astronomer CEO Andy Byron raved about Kristin Cabot months before being caught on Coldplay kiss cam
Astronomer CEO Andy Byron sang Kristin Cabot's praises when she was hired in November 2024 as the company's Chief People Officer– eight months before they went viral for apparently getting busted on Coldplay's kiss cam. Byron noted Cabot's leadership abilities in an Astronomer press release from Nov. 19. 'Kristin's exceptional leadership and deep expertise in talent management, employee engagement, and scaling people strategies will be critical as we continue our rapid trajectory,' he said. 'She is a proven leader at multiple growth-stage companies and her passion for fostering diverse, collaborative workplaces makes her a perfect fit for Astronomer,' he continued. Cabot — who was praised for 'preserving and enriching company culture at organizations experiencing rapid growth' in the hiring announcement — also mentioned Andy by name in the press release. 'I prefer to think of my role as people strategy versus traditional human resources, as the real magic happens when you align the people strategy with the business strategy,' Cabot said. 'There are plenty of companies out there where a leadership team doesn't recognize the value that a strong people leader and people team can bring to a company.' 'It's not just about benefits or catered lunches. There's so much more to it, and I was energized in my conversations with Andy and the Astronomer leadership team about the opportunities that exist here.' Byron and Cabot's alleged cheating was revealed on Wednesday evening when they were filmed in an intimate embrace at a Coldplay concert. Their horrified expressions prompted the cheating speculation. The two are reportedly married to other people. Byron's wife, Megan Kerrigan Byron, deactivated her Facebook page after the TikTok video went viral. In the video, when the kiss cam panned to a man in a blue polo shirt with his arms around a woman wearing a black tank top, she quickly put her hands up to hide her face and turned around. The man also looked embarrassed and ducked down so he couldn't be filmed. Martin appeared bewildered by their behavior. 'Alright, c'mon, you're ok,' he said when they attempted to hide their faces. 'Uh oh, what?' 'Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy,' he continued as the amused audience laughed. According to LinkedIn, Byron has been the CEO of Astronomer — a company that empowers data teams to bring mission-critical analytics, AI and software to life — since July 2023. Page Six has reached out to Astronomer for comment but did not immediately hear back. Solve the daily Crossword
News24
a day ago
- Entertainment
- News24
Coldplay concert sparks cheating scandal as Chris Martin's joke sends allegations viral
'Oh shit, I hope we didn't do something bad,' quipped Chris Martin as a couple attempted to avoid being captured by the jumbotron during Coldplay's concert in Foxborough, USA, on 15 July, part of their Music Of The Spheres World Tour. In the now viral video circulating on social media, the man and woman were caught off guard when they appeared on screen in a close embrace, they quickly broke apart, with the woman covering her face and turning her back. The man, in turn, crouched behind a glass railing in an attempt to hide sparking cheating allegations. 'Oh, look at these two ...Either they're having an affair or just really shy,' joked the frontman. As the video made the rounds on social media, it was discovered that the man is a tech CEO and the woman is the company's Chief People Officer. Both of them are reportedly married. X users had a field day with many joking about the awkward situation. 'Sad way for his wife to find out that he liked Coldplay,' wrote one user. 'Cold play by Coldplay at a Coldplay concert,' joked another. 'They acted as though they were doing something wrong, and that's why it went viral. If they stayed still and did nothing, I'm pretty sure this wouldn't be trending this much,' said another. 'Well, the HR team is gonna be having some very difficult conversations on Friday, wrote another. 'Having your workplace affair exposed at a Coldplay concert, by the lead singer himself, is just a wild series of events,' wrote another. Meanwhile, the company told TMZ that a statement on social media purportedly written by him to address the alleged affair 'is not a real statement.'
Forbes
19-06-2025
- Business
- Forbes
What Bold CEOs Need From Their Chief People Officer
CEOs must stop asking their Chief People Officer to run better processes and start expecting them to ... More drive performance transformation. In the most successful companies, HR doesn't just support the business. It scales it. Shapes it. Sometimes, saves it. But for that to happen, CEOs must stop asking their Chief People Officer to run better processes and start expecting them to drive performance transformation. That kind of shift doesn't come from dashboards or engagement programs. It comes from bold partnership. To learn more about what this partnership between the CEO and CPO should look like, I had the chance to interview Elaine Page. Page has built high-impact cultures inside fintechs and tech startups and transformed a Fortune 100 healthcare system with over 80,000 employees. As a CHRO and GM, she's led remote-first scaling, restructured underperforming functions, integrated $2B acquisitions, and rebuilt trust after cultural breakdowns. At the center of each success story? A CEO who treated HR as a strategic growth function, not a support one. 'Great HR isn't a department,' said Page. 'It's a system of leverage for the business.' 'But the CEO has to want it,' Page elaborated. 'Most CEOs say people are their greatest asset, but then they treat HR like a liability. That disconnects costs from companies more than they realize.' Elaine Page, Former Chief People Officer at TaxJar and GM, Stripe The difference between HR that performs and HR that transforms comes down to one mindset shift: Stop asking what HR can do for you. Start asking what kind of company you want to become. The best CHROs—the ones who drive business value—ask questions like: Specifically, Page said that CEOs should expect their CHROs to pull three enterprise levers: When Page took on a culture transformation at Northwell Health, she didn't start with posters or PowerPoints. She started by listening to thousands of employees, from emergency room nurses to IT leads, to understand what truly mattered to them. From that came a bold new Employee Value Proposition (EVP) that moved far beyond branding. It shaped how the organization hired, onboarded, promoted, recognized, and paid its people. It wasn't just a culture statement. It was an operating system. The results? 'If your EVP lives in a slide deck, it's dead on arrival,' said Page. 'If it lives in hiring rubrics, bonus plans, and performance reviews, then you've built something real.' At Stripe and other fintech companies, Page faced a different challenge: scale without chaos. Rather than defaulting to plug-and-play HR templates, she asked leaders what outcomes truly mattered, and then built simple, agile systems to drive clarity, energy, and momentum. The result? Performance systems that matched the business's pace. Talent strategies that flexed with growth. Leadership frameworks that aligned to outcomes, not just values. 'Great HR doesn't mean complex. It means aligned,' she said. 'At scale, you need simplicity that drives consistency, not bureaucracy that slows things down.' Today, AI is forcing every function to evolve, and HR is no exception. Page is currently advising a tech company on embedding AI into the employee and recruiter experience. They're using it to: 'AI shouldn't be a buzzword in HR,' Paige said. 'It should be a scale enabler. A trust builder. A real-time insight engine.' Page is candid about where CHROs fall short and where CEOs miss the mark. 'Even the most talented CHRO can only deliver at the level the CEO allows,' she said. 'And the highest-impact partnerships are forged in truth.' She's seen too many HR leaders stuck in compliance land because their CEO didn't invite them into the business. She's also seen CHROs shy away from hard feedback out of fear of rocking the boat. The best partnerships share three traits: 'I've made mistakes,' Page admits. 'I've stayed quiet when I should have pushed. But the longer I've done this work, the clearer it's become: you don't earn a seat at the table by playing nice. You earn it by delivering results and telling the truth about what's in the way.' If you're a CEO reading this, ask yourself: And perhaps the most important question: 'Do I want HR to run more smoothly - or do I want the business to run better?' There's a difference. And it shows up in trust, speed, retention, and results. Page's message is clear: The CHRO you need isn't the one who runs HR well. It's the one who helps you run the business better - through people, performance, and possibility. And when that partnership clicks? That's when HR stops performing… and starts transforming. Kevin Kruse is the Founder + CEO of LEADx, scaling and sustaining leadership behaviors with behavioral nudges, micro-learning, and live cohort-based workshops. Kevin is also a New York Times bestselling author of Great Leaders Have No Rules, 15 Secrets Successful People Know About Time Management, and Employee Engagement 2.0.
Fast Company
12-06-2025
- Business
- Fast Company
In the age of AI, IQ and EQ are no longer enough. Here's why
In my years as a Chief People Officer—including leading HR through two corporate bankruptcies—I learned the hard way that no perk or dashboard can save a sinking ship. No amount of free lunches or fancy engagement surveys can stop the exodus when employees are burned out. The only thing that kept the core team together was a shared meaning in what we were doing. Fast forward to today, and I keep hearing a popular catchphrase: 'AI won't replace you. A person who knows how to use AI will.' It's catchy, but surface-level. The deeper truth is that AI won't replace your job. But AI will expose your purpose. As automation accelerates, leadership will be judged on defining purpose and protecting the meaning that people can get from their work. Once AI strips away the spreadsheets, reports, and routine tasks, we're left with what only humans can offer: culture, trust, and mission. The best leaders in the AI era won't just make better decisions—they'll give people a reason to stay. From knowledge to emotional intelligence For centuries, leadership authority came from holding the most knowledge. If you had the answers, you had the power. But the internet—and now AI—changed that. Today, information is abundant, instant, and almost free. Strategy templates, market research, and even forecasting analyses are one prompt away. Knowing more is no longer a competitive edge. As knowledge became a commodity, leaders leaned on emotional intelligence (EQ) as the new X-factor: empathy, listening, and self-awareness. Business schools started preaching 'soft skills,' and for good reason. IQ was still necessary, but EQ built trust, loyalty, and culture. How AI is affecting EQ Now, we're seeing AI augment and automate EQ. AI-powered coaching tools whisper in managers' ears to help them sound more empathetic on customer calls. Algorithms monitor Slack or emails to flag burnout risks. HR software can suggest how to phrase feedback based on an employee's personality profile. EQ is still critical, but it's quickly becoming a baseline that technology can assist with or even imitate. When everyone has an AI sidekick, emotional intelligence alone won't make a leader unique. So, what remains as the true differentiator of great leaders? One word: meaning. Not information. Not tone. Purpose. The one thing a machine cannot provide is genuine mission and meaning—a reason why we're doing the work in the first place. As someone who now consults on company transformations, I see this every day: Artificial intelligence can handle the 'what' and 'how' of work, but only real leaders can handle the 'why.' Why meaning matters more than ever The business case for meaning is compelling. When work feels meaningful, performance soars – and research backs that up. According to McKinsey, employees in high-meaning environments can be up to five times more productive at peak performance. Purpose-driven companies also dramatically outperform on key metrics. Deloitte reports that such companies grow faster than their competitors and enjoy far higher employee retention. In short, meaning isn't a fluffy perk or a new HR program—it's performance fuel. No catered lunch or wellness app can substitute for an employee's belief that their work matters. It's no wonder Gallup finds that only about one-third of employees are engaged at work, with many citing a low connection to their company's mission. People are starved for meaning, and they'll leave organizations that fail to provide it. How great leaders infuse meaning into work So, how do effective leaders cultivate meaning on the ground? It goes beyond slogans on the wall. In my experience and observation, the best leaders consistently do three things: 1. Connect every role to the mission Great leaders don't just talk about purpose abstractly—they translate it for every team and individual. They help the junior accountant see how her spreadsheets support a greater mission, and the customer service rep understands who truly benefits from his daily calls. There's a famous story of a NASA janitor who, when asked what he was doing, replied: 'I'm helping put a man on the moon.' That's the power of meaningful leadership — when everyone, even in humble roles, knows how their work contributes to a larger goal. 2. Protect the purpose in hard moments It's easy to tout your company's noble mission when business is booming. It's much harder when you're facing layoffs, budget cuts, or a pivot that tests your values. Yet these tough moments are exactly when true leaders double down on purpose. I've had to announce painful layoffs, and I did it by reaffirming what the company ultimately stood for and how we would stay true to that mission in the long run. Great leaders refuse 'quick wins' that violate core values, and they communicate even bad news through the lens of the organization's purpose. By protecting the integrity of the mission under pressure, you build credibility. Employees see that purpose isn't just PR — it's real, and it guides decisions. That consistency keeps your best people from walking out when times get tough. 3. Elevate meaning daily Purpose isn't a poster in the break room or a once-a-year kickoff speech, it's a daily practice. Leaders who excel at this weave meaning into the fabric of routines. They use storytelling, recognition, and even ritual to keep the 'why' front and center. They make belief visible because belief drives effort. When people regularly hear how their work makes a difference, it reinforces that sense of meaning. Focusing on meaning isn't just about making employees feel good or keeping them around. It's also about performance, resilience, and innovation. A highly skilled team that doesn't believe in the work will eventually burn out or quiet quit. On the other hand, even a lean team that truly believes will punch above its weight. The leaders who will thrive in the AI era The upshot is clear: The leaders who thrive from here on out won't be the ones with the highest IQ, or even EQ. Machines are rapidly catching up on knowledge and empathy. The winners will be the leaders who mean more to their teams, their organizations, and their customers. In my consulting work, I tell executives: 'AI can do a lot, but it can't give your people a purpose.' As technology takes over tasks, the last best leadership edge is cultivating an environment where work matters. Meaning is no longer optional—it's the difference between a team that merely endures and one that achieves extraordinary outcomes. Leaders who embrace this will not only retain their top talent; they'll unlock levels of performance that no AI can ever replicate. They'll give their people a reason to come to work excited each day—and in the end, that's what truly separates the great companies from the rest.
Forbes
16-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Courage To Lead With Values In An Age Of Uncertainty: Insights From Workhuman Live 2025
Eric Mosley takes the stage at Workhuman Live 2025 to share how Human Intelligence is transforming ... More the workplace. I came into Workhuman Live 2025 with a question I was eager to explore: In a moment defined by acute disruption and technological acceleration, what does it take to lead with clarity and conviction, meeting the needs of both the business and people in it? Our speakers and attendees were posing the same question. Across every stage and side chat, I saw a thread running through the conversation: the importance of values, and how staying aligned to those values can drive forward both employee wellbeing and business performance. The theme of the week soon became clear: In times of uncertainty, values are cultural anchors. And the moral courage to stand by them is a leadership differentiator. As Kelly Jones, EVP and Chief People Officer at Cisco, put it in our Wednesday panel: 'Leadership without moral courage is weak tea.' As Kelly explained, oftentimes, when you're in times of disruption, employees want to know where you stand. 'This is the moral courage part,' she explained. 'Your culture comes to life through what you do, not what you say. And so you know, these moments of being able to communicate often and inclusively about who you are and where you stand on these things are very important.' But to act with courage, leaders need more than just instinct or good intentions. They also need visibility into the unbiased truth of their organizations: how people work, where culture thrives or breaks down, and where values are lived or lost. Moral courage doesn't mean having all the answers. It does mean being willing to seek out the truth. And this points to the other major threads of the conference: Having curiosity and seeking answers even when it's hard. In other words, finding and building on better data. Adam Grant reminded us of this in his keynote, urging attendees to seek out the truth about their own leadership and organizations. Finding a source of truth is important, he noted, even if it is uncomfortable or leaders feel uncertain. As Trevor Noah also observed in his keynote, 'Fear is an interesting emotion in that it lives in uncertainty. It breathes in uncertainty. And so there are a lot of leaders who are unsure, but I don't think a leader needs to be sure. What a good leader needs to be is communicative.' Culture, Clarity, and Alignment Moral courage and values may be the north star, but to lead with them consistently, you also have to see clearly how they are being practiced across your organization: where your culture is thriving, where it's under strain, and how people are actually experiencing work. Kerry Dryburgh, Chief Human Resource Officer of bp, offered a powerful example of this during our CHRO panel, reflecting on the company's decision to exit Russia following the invasion of Ukraine. It was a decision made quickly, but with a deep conviction rooted in bp's values. As Kerry explained, it wasn't just a political or financial choice. It was a people one. A recognition that you can't hold a values statement in one hand and do something misaligned with the other. That kind of clarity – knowing what matters, and acting on it – demands both insight and courage. But even with strong values, alignment doesn't happen by accident. It takes intentional leadership at every level of the organization. 'I think the first thing you have to think about is what's right in what context,' Kerry said. 'And it doesn't always mean that everything has to be the same… building authentic leaders, because at the end of the day, any moment for an employee is very largely impacted by the teams they work with and the leaders they work for.' It means making sure your people understand where the company is going, and how their work connects to that journey. 'Individuals tend to be more energized and motivated when they can see a direct line of sight between the company goals and what they're actually focused on,' Kerry said. 'So you've got a line of sight to outcomes and are rewarding accordingly.' But when that clarity is present, and when people feel seen, informed, and connected to the mission, it transforms the experience of work and business results. Human Intelligence as a Tool for Courageous Leadership This idea – that you don't need certainty to lead, but you do need clarity – is where many of our discussions this week converged. And, of course, getting to the truth starts with the right data. Whether feedback, answers, or people data, as Kelly Jones from Cisco said: 'Your data has got to be good or this will not work.' She reminded us during her session that no AI platform, however sophisticated, can create meaningful results without first starting with high-quality data. That's where Human Intelligence comes in. It's where values, data, and action converge, and where leaders can ensure they have the clarity to lead with both conviction and confidence. Recognition data as a source is uniquely powerful in this way because it is voluntary and specific, reflecting how work actually happens in an organization. It captures the informal networks, hidden contributions, and behaviors that don't always show up in traditional systems. That makes it a vital tool for aligning people with values, surfacing influence, and understanding the lived experience of culture in real time. Recognition itself functions first as a values-alignment tool, revealing who is modeling your organization's principles, where momentum is building, and where attention is needed. It shows not just what is rewarded, but what is remembered. And when used intentionally, it helps reinforce purpose and direction at every level of the business. Combined with AI, recognition also becomes a values measurement tool. Too often, leaders rely on lagging indicators or incomplete survey data to assess culture, skills, and engagement. But Human Intelligence offers real-time insight into what's working, what's shifting, and where leaders need to lean in. That kind of visibility supports better decisions, grounded not in assumptions, but in patterns of actual behavior. And critically, Human Intelligence is a performance engine. When leaders are working from clean, behavior-based data instead of fragmented, transactional metrics, they can invest in what's creating value, course-correct where needed, and scale what's working. As I shared in my keynote, we are surrounded by behavioral data in the workplace, but most of it is locked inside messy systems. Unlocking that data and making it visible, usable, and human-centered gives leaders a foundation not just for culture and performance but also for confidence and more ethical decision-making. And in a world where values and performance are increasingly intertwined, that source of truth is essential. Moral Courage Is Not a Solo Sport: Community as Infrastructure Of course, even the strongest values can falter in isolation. Courage is easier to summon when you're not the only one carrying it. That's why I was especially proud to help launch the WSJ Chief People Officer Council at Workhuman Live 2025, a new peer forum created by The WSJ Leadership Institute in partnership with Workhuman. At a time when people leaders are being asked to lead through transformation, uphold culture, drive performance, and navigate intense social scrutiny all at once, this kind of space is crucial. The Council reflects the growing reality that CPOs and CHROs have become co-authors of the business agenda. And this council will be a space for bold ideas, real influence, and shared experience in leading through the complexity of our time. Trevor Noah issued a challenge to our audience on Wednesday to 'Be curious, so that fear is not the emotion you're experiencing.' The CPO Council is designed for just that sort of curiosity. It will be a place where questions are welcome, doubt is respected, and progress is built through collective curiosity. What It Takes to See – and Lead – Clearly If I emerged from this week with one insight, it is that in times of noise, the real competitive advantage is clarity. Clarity of purpose. Clarity of culture. Clarity of data. Clarity about what your organization stands for, and how that shows up in action. And moral clarity, which cuts across every aspect of people leadership and every topic on our agenda – from business performance to AI transformation, to DEI. As Valeisha Butterfield said during our panel: 'We determined that [DEI] was good for business, not just because it was a popular thing to do, and then holding the line and saying, 'This is good for my company. This is good for my industry. We're seeing gains. We're seeing bottom-line returns. So we're going to have courage in this moment, because we know, not only that it's the right thing to do, but it's actually good for our business.' That kind of courage may emerge as a defining trait of leadership in the AI era. The future of people leadership will belong to those brave enough to act in alignment with their values – with clarity, connection, and at scale. When data makes values visible, and community makes them actionable, leaders are equipped not only to respond, but to lead with courage. You can learn more about the CPO Council at
