Andy Byron, CEO of data software company Astronomer, has resigned from his position following a viral incident at a Coldplay concert that sparked a company investigation and widespread online attention.
The controversy began Wednesday evening at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, when Byron was captured on the venue’s “kiss cam” during Coldplay’s “Music of the Spheres” tour concert. The video showed Byron embracing Kristin Cabot, Astronomer’s Chief People Officer, before both quickly ducked out of view when they realized they were being filmed.
The moment gained immediate traction on social media, with Coldplay frontman Chris Martin even commenting on the awkward exchange, telling the crowd: “Oh look at these two. All right, come on. You’re OK! Oh what? Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
Company response and investigation
Astronomer initially placed Byron on administrative leave Friday and launched a formal investigation into the matter. The company’s board of directors accepted Byron’s resignation Saturday, according to a statement shared on LinkedIn.
“As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding,” the company said in its official statement. “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”
Pete DeJoy, Astronomer’s co-founder and Chief Product Officer, will continue serving as interim CEO while the board conducts a search for Byron’s permanent replacement.
Addressing misinformation
The company also used its statement to correct several pieces of misinformation that circulated online following the incident. Astronomer clarified that Byron had not issued any personal statements despite fake quotes attributed to him circulating on social media, and that reports incorrectly identifying other employees as being present at the concert were false.
Industry context
Byron’s departure follows a pattern of CEOs losing their positions over workplace relationships. Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw was terminated in late 2024 for a consensual relationship with the company’s chief legal officer, and McDonald’s CEO Steve Easterbrook was fired in 2019 for engaging in a relationship with an employee.
Byron, whose estimated net worth ranges between $20 million and $70 million according to industry reports, had led Astronomer as the company reached a valuation of over $1.2 billion as of May 2025.
Company’s future focus
Despite the leadership change, Astronomer emphasized its commitment to continuing operations. “Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI,” the company stated. “While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not.”
The New York-based technology company, which specializes in data processing software including its Astro platform, stressed it would continue “helping our customers with their toughest data and AI problems.”
Byron’s LinkedIn profile has been removed and he has been scrubbed from the company’s leadership page.
