Astronomer CEO Andy Byron has resigned after getting caught on camera at a Coldplay concert with the company’s HR boss Kristin Cabot. The video showed Byron, 50, holding Cabot close while the crowd cheered. Once they noticed the camera, both turned away fast. But it was too late.
Chris Martin saw it all from the stage. “Oh look at these two! Oh what? Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy,” the Coldplay frontman joked to the crowd. That one line blew the roof off a scandal that was already brewing.
By Friday, Byron had been placed on leave. On Saturday, the company confirmed he had stepped down for good.
“Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted,” Astronomer said in a statement. “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”
Stay up-to-date with the latest news!
Subscribe and start recieving our daily emails.
Astronomer said its cofounder Pete DeJoy will serve as interim CEO while they search for a replacement.
The company tried to move on quickly. “While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not,” the statement added. “We’re continuing to do what we do best.”
But not everyone is ready to forget.
Public records show both Byron and Cabot are married—to other people. They also live at different addresses from the ones listed for their spouses. That only added more fuel to the fire.
Cabot is married to Andrew Cabot, who runs Privateer Rum in Massachusetts. Property documents from January confirm she was married when she sold a $1.8 million home earlier this year.
Andrew Cabot has been married at least twice before. He shares kids with his first wife Maud, who even posted photos last year showing Cabot getting cozy with the family at his daughter’s birthday party. In those pictures, Kristin Cabot was wearing a wedding ring. That ring was missing during her Coldplay moment with Byron.
Byron’s wife Megan has already started distancing herself. She removed his last name from her social media right after the viral video made headlines.
Now Astronomer is trying to clean up the mess.
“The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly,” they said.
Byron and Cabot’s professional bond raised eyebrows from the start. She joined Astronomer as HR chief in November last year, and Byron was quick to praise her.
“Kristin’s exceptional leadership and deep expertise in talent management, employee engagement, and scaling people strategies will be critical as we continue our rapid trajectory,” he said at the time.
He also called her a “perfect fit” for the company.
Now that phrase feels ironic.
Byron led Astronomer through fast growth since becoming CEO in 2023. The company is now valued at over $1 billion.
Featured image via Screengrab
