The infamous kiss-cam moment at Coldplay’s July 16 concert made international news, spawned countless memes and even led to Astronomer CEO Andy Byron’s resignation just days later.
However, the company’s Chief People Officer, Kristin Cabot, appears to have maintained her position despite the scandal.
Caught on camera
Andy and Kristin went viral when a video of the pair hiding from the kiss-cam at the Coldplay concert was first posted to TikTok by user @instaagraace.
Coldplay were performing in Boston on their Music of the Spheres tour, and took a moment to showcase their fans on the jumbotron.
When the kiss-cam landed on a middle-aged couple embracing in a corporate box, the man immediately ducked down while the woman turned her back to the camera.
“Oh, look at these two…” lead singer Chris Martin said from the stage. “Alright. Come on, you’re okay,” he laughed as they avoided the spotlight.
“Oh, what? Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” he quipped.
Users immediately identified the couple as Andy and Kristin, who appeared to be engaging in an affair. Andy is married to Megan Kerrigan, while Kristin tied the knot with Privateer Rum executive Andrew Cabot, per The New York Post.
Weathering the storm
© LinkedInWhile Andy resigned from his position shortly after the video went viral, with Pete DeJoy stepping in to replace him, Kristin is still listed on the company website as CPO, indicating that she has kept her role.
Andy has been removed from the site, and a formal investigation has been launched into the incident.
In a press release in November announcing her new role at Astronomer, Andy shared that her “exceptional leadership and deep expertise in talent management, employee engagement, and scaling people strategies will be critical as we continue our rapid trajectory. She is a proven leader.”
© Getty ImagesAstronomer released a statement in light of the incident, revealing that the couple’s behavior was not in line with the company’s values.
“As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding,” it read. “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”
“Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted,” the statement continued. “The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO.”
© Getty Images“Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI,” it explained.
“While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not. We’re continuing to do what we do best: helping our customers with their toughest data & AI problems.”
Stepping up
© InstagramPete DeJoy opened up about the whirlwind week at Astronomer since the Coldplay concert, and acknowledged that “the events of the past few days have received a level of media attention that few companies—let alone startups in our small corner of the data and AI world—ever encounter.”
He added that the attention had been “unusual and surreal for our team” and that the viral moment has made Astronomer “a household name”.
To learn more about the viral moment, watch below…
Read the full article here
