Astronomer CEO resigns after kiss cam scandal — Pete DeJoy steps in
A playful moment at a Coldplay concert has led to serious consequences for two top executives at tech company Astronomer.
Kristin Cabot, the company’s Head of HR (officially titled Head of People), resigned on Thursday—just a week after a video of her and CEO Andy Byron went viral. The clip, taken during a “kiss cam” segment at Coldplay’s July 16 show at Gillette Stadium in Boston, showed the two embracing in a way that immediately caught online attention.
As Coldplay frontman Chris Martin joked on the mic—“Uh oh, what? Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy”—the camera zoomed in on Cabot covering her face and Byron trying to duck out of view. The moment quickly exploded on social media.
It didn’t take long for internet users to identify the pair, and within 24 hours, the video had spread widely. What seemed like a light-hearted concert moment soon sparked questions about professional boundaries and privacy in the era of smartphones and viral content.
Andy Byron resigned shortly after the clip made waves, with Astronomer’s board launching an internal investigation. Kristin Cabot’s resignation followed a week later.
Neither Byron nor Cabot has made a public statement about the incident.
This unexpected moment serves as a sharp reminder: in a digital world, even a brief appearance on the big screen can have lasting real-world consequences.
#ColdplayConcert #ViralVideo #WorkplaceEthics #CEOResignation #KissCamScandal