Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and HR chief Kristin Cabot were placed on leave after a Coldplay concert video went viral. Byron is reportedly working on an exit deal, according to someone who spoke with the press.
The company confirmed it launched an internal investigation right after the incident. Both executives were pulled from duty as soon as the video started making rounds online.
In a post, the company said: “Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since the beginning. Our leaders are expected to uphold the highest standards of conduct and accountability.”
Another company statement said: “The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly.”
They also made it clear that no other employees were in the video. And they said: “Reports claiming otherwise are incorrect.”
No public statement has come from Byron himself, and now fake apology posts are floating around, with some falsely attributed to him and to Coldplay.
Meanwhile, some of Byron’s former coworkers aren’t too surprised. One of them said: “The text groups and chains of former employees are like… everybody’s laughing their a** off and enjoying the hell out of what happened and him getting exposed.”
That same insider described him as a “sales-obsessed” manager who helped build a toxic workplace.
The now-viral video shows Byron and Cabot getting pretty close during the concert just as Coldplay frontman Chris Martin put them on the kiss cam at Gillette Stadium.
When the camera zoomed in, Martin joked with the crowd, but Byron quickly ducked and hid while Cabot looked away. The mood flipped in seconds.
Byron then seemed to realize he was on the big screen and said: “f****** hell, it’s me,” which made the crowd laugh. Martin joked that they were either having an affair or just shy.
Byron runs a $1.3 billion software company and Cabot just started with Astronomer nine months ago. The fallout hit both of them fast.
Cabot’s profile online says she can “win trust with employees of all levels,” and Byron once called her a “proven leader” with strong people skills. That only made people pile on more.
Their moment on camera has triggered a full social media storm, with tons of posts calling them out for cheating in public.
