Andy Byron, chief executive of Boston‑based DataOps start-up Astronomer, has tendered his resignation after a video showing him and the company’s chief people officer, Kristin Cabot, caught in a close embrace on Coldplay’s “Kiss Cam” went viral.
The clip, captured at Gillette Stadium during a concert on July 17 sparked row and prompted Astronomer’s board to place both Byron and Cabot on leave while an internal review was conducted.
In a statement released Saturday, Astronomer’s board said it had accepted Byron’s resignation, effective immediately, and reaffirmed the company’s commitment to “the values and culture that have guided us since our founding.”
Co‑founder and chief product officer Pete DeJoy will continue to lead the company as interim CEO while a search for a permanent successor is launched.
Byron’s abrupt departure comes just two months after Astronomer closed a $93 million Series D financing, underscoring the precarious interplay between personal conduct and corporate governance in the era of omnipresent social media.
Company spokespersons emphasised that, despite heightened visibility from the incident, Astronomer’s core mission, to empower data teams with modern analytics and production‑grade AI infrastructure, remains unchanged.
The Viral Video
The widely shared video showed Byron, who is married, wrapping his arm around Cabot as Coldplay frontman Chris Martin quipped on the jumbotron. The pair immediately ducked out of the camera’s view, only fuelling online speculation and a deluge of memes.
Following the incident, Astronomer’s board swiftly placed both executives on administrative leave and launched an internal investigation. On Friday, the company had announced the decision to stand down Byron pending review but offered few details.
Saturday’s resignation announcement marks the conclusion of that investigation into conduct deemed inconsistent with Astronomer’s leadership expectations.
Observers note that start-ups, especially those at the intersection of enterprise software and emerging technologies, are particularly sensitive to reputational risk. As Astronomer continues to serve its global customer base, including Fortune 500 firms leveraging its platform for data orchestration, the board’s rapid response aims to preserve stakeholder confidence.
With DeJoy at the helm, Astronomer will press ahead on its product roadmap, which includes enhancements to its open‑source frameworks and cloud‑native deployment tools. The company’s board said it remains “excited about our growth trajectory and the many opportunities ahead,” even as it works to fill the CEO role and move beyond the headlines that momentarily eclipsed its technological achievements.
