UPDATE (19/07/2025 - 8:26PM): Andy Byron, the now-former CEO of Astronomer, has resigned from his position in the company.
In a statement posted to LinkedIn, the company said: "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.
"Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI.
"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."
ORIGINAL (19/07/2025 - 2:52PM): If you have been on social media in the last 48 hours, there's no doubt you may have seen a certain video captured by a fan at a recent Coldplay concert.
But if you haven't, let me get you up to speed.
Coldplay were performing at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts on Wednesday, where they took a break between songs to highlight happy couples on the big screens during a kiss cam segment.
Things were going well until the camera settled on tech CEO Andy Byron and colleague HR Chief Kristin Cabot, who appeared to be mortified that they'd been spotted appearing to embrace each other.
Andy quickly ducked out of frame while Kristin turned around to hide her face from the camera.
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin said at the time: "Oh, look at these two … All right, c’mon, you’re okay. … Oh, what? Either they're having an affair or they're very shy."
In the video, there is also a third woman standing to the side of the co-workers, who looks equally as embarrassed. The woman can been seen awkwardly smiling away as the moment unfolds.
And it wasn't long before people online believed that they'd worked out her identity, with some people claiming she was a woman by the name of Alyssa Stoddard, one of Cabot’s direct reports, who recently joined Astronomer.
However, Astronomer has responded following the viral footage - and the claim - stating that the another woman in the video has been misidentified.
Per News.com.au, an Astronomer spokesperson dismissed the accusation, saying: "Stoddard wasn’t at the concert, reaffirming that no other employees were featured with the pair on the jumbotron."
In the wake of mounting online scrutiny, Astronomer took swift corporate action. CEO Andy Byron has been placed on leave, and co-founder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy is stepping in as interim CEO.
The company also released a LinkedIn statement: “We are 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. The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly.”
The company also noted that neither Andy nor Kristin has publicly commented on the incident.
Grace Springer who originally shared the footage, quickly amassed millions of views.
She later told The US Sun: “I had no idea who the couple was. Just thought I caught an interesting reaction to the kiss cam and decided to post it.”
While she confessed feeling remorse, she also noted: “A part of me feels bad for turning these people’s lives upside down, but, play stupid games… win stupid prizes. I hope their partners can heal … I hope, for them, my video was a blessing in disguise.”
Byron, who became CEO in July 2023, recently praised Cabot, who joined in November 2023, as a “proven leader” with “exceptional leadership and deep expertise in talent management, employee engagement, and scaling people strategies.”
Cabot herself expressed excitement on LinkedIn, speaking of being “energised in my conversations with Andy and the Astronomer leadership team.”