Andy Byron resigned as CEO of Astronomer after a viral Coldplay concert video showed him in a compromising moment with HR executive Kristen Cabot.
Andy Byron stepped down as CEO of Astronomer after a viral video showed him in an intimate moment with the company’s chief people officer during a Coldplay concert in Massachusetts.
The clip, captured by a concertgoer and later broadcast on massive venue screens, showed Byron and Kristen Cabot with their arms around each other.
The moment quickly turned awkward when Cabot covered her face and Byron dropped to the floor as the crowd reacted. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, narrating the scene live, quipped, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
The video, posted by TikTok user Grace Springer under the handle @instaagrace, exploded online, racking up over 100 million views and turning a night of live music into a corporate PR nightmare.
Astronomer, a New York-based tech firm specializing in DataOps, confirmed Byron’s departure in a statement.
“Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted.”
The company added, “Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space. While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not.”
Co-founder Pete DeJoy will step in as interim CEO while the company begins its search for a permanent replacement.
The incident took place during Coldplay’s concert in Massachusetts and was filmed by venue staff, who projected the footage onto large screens for the audience.
The moment, meant to spotlight concertgoers, instead exposed a private interaction that quickly went viral.
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