Fatal Kiss Cam: Astronomer’s CEO resigns after his embarrassing video goes viral
The “kiss cam” at a Coldplay concert captured an intimate scene between Andy Byron, CEO of Astronomer, and a colleague. Both married to other people, the protagonists saw their lives turn viral, leading to the American executive’s resignation, officially announced on Saturday, July 19th.
Kiss Cam fatale, démission du PDG d’Astronomer
At the Coldplay concert on the past Wednesday, the famous “kiss cam”, usually used to entertain the audience by spotting couples to invite to kiss, this time highlighted a much more compromising situation.
On the big screen, the audience sees a man and a woman embracing tenderly. But the story takes an unexpected turn when they abruptly pull apart, visibly surprised and embarrassed.
Very quickly, internet users identify the couple. It is Andy Byron, CEO of Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, head of human resources for the same company.
Already married and parents on their own, the two coworkers find themselves under the spotlight, or rather under fire of criticism. In the video that circulated massively on social media and viewed millions of times, one can hear singer Chris Martin joking: “Either it’s an affair, or they are very shy.” The discomfort visible on screen leaves little room for doubt.
A viral moment, an irrevocable decision
The consequences did not take long. By Saturday, July 19th, Astronomer publicly announced its CEO’s resignation. “Our leaders are supposed to set standards of conduct and responsibility, and recently, these standards have not been met”, it stated in a press release. Andy Byron, in his position since 2013, thus leaves the helm of this pioneering company in the DataOps universe, while Pete DeJoy, co-founder and product director, takes over on an interim basis.
Within 24 hours, Byron’s name generated more than two million Google searches, according to Business Insider. An uncontrollable digital storm, fueled by public curiosity and the viral images. In its press release, Astronomer reiterates its commitment to the company’s founding values and states that the board of directors will initiate a procedure to appoint a new CEO.