Astronomer CEO steps down following viral Coldplay concert moment

By Zehra Nur Celik

ANKARA (AA) – Andy Byron, CEO of New York-based tech firm Astronomer, has resigned after a video of him embracing an employee at a Coldplay concert went viral, according to local media.

Astronomer’s board accepted his resignation and announced plans to begin the search for a new CEO, the company confirmed in a statement shared with CNN on Saturday.

“As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met,” the company said in the statement.

The incident occurred Wednesday at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts, where Byron and Kristin Cabot, Astronomer’s chief people officer, were seen together on the “kiss cam” before ducking out of view.

On Friday, the company named co-founder and chief product officer Pete DeJoy as interim CEO.

Following the announcement, Byron’s LinkedIn profile was taken down, and his name was removed from the company’s leadership page, which now lists DeJoy as CEO.

However, Byron still appears on the site as a board member.