Astronomer CEO Andy Byron is out at the tech company after he was spotted hugging his human resources chief at a Coldplay concert this week, as the viral moment continues buzzing across social media.
Key Takeaways
- Astronomer announced Byron was stepping down from his role in a statement Saturday, saying the company’s board accepted his resignation.
- Astronomer said its “leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”
- Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy will take over as interim CEO as Astronomer looks for someone to fill the position.
- The company said Friday it was investigating the matter involving Byron and noted he had been placed on leave.
- Byron’s LinkedIn page is no longer public, according to CNN, and his name was pulled from Astronomer’s leadership page.
Who Was The Woman Byron Was Hugging?
Kristin Cabot, Astronomer’s chief people officer, leads human resources at the company. She remains on leave as of Saturday.
Key Background
The viral moment occurred at a Coldplay concert in Massachusetts this week. Byron was seen embracing Cabot from behind on a jumbotron and quickly separated from her once he saw himself on the screen, ducking out of view while Cabot turned her back to the camera. Chris Martin, Coldplay’s frontman, said, “Whoa, look at these two,” before suggesting they were either having an affair or were just shy.
The moment has sparked a wave of memes and satirical posts online. Amid the jokes, a statement from someone impersonating Byron made the rounds online, using a quote from Coldplay’s song “Fix You” as the final sentence.
Astronomer later confirmed the statement was fake.
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