What is Astronomer company? As CEO Andy Byron placed on leave after caught allegedly cheating at Coldplay concert with Kristen Cabot
US tech company, Astronomer, has placed its CEO Andy Byron on leave after kiss cam at Coldplay concert allegedly caught him having an affair.
In the clip, which initially appeared on a giant screen at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, two people are seen with their arms wrapped around each other. When their faces appear for thousands to see, the man and woman abruptly duck and hide from the camera.
Reports that both are executives at the company Astronomer and rumours of an affair sparked by the band leader's comment, then spread online. Late on Friday, the company confirmed on X that its CEO Andy Byron had been placed on leave.
The video of the pair swaying to music, then quickly trying to hide exploded on the internet after the concert on Wednesday night. Chris Martin, lead singer of Coldplay, after seeing the pair hide, said to the crowd: "Either they're having an affair, or they're just very shy."
The initial video posted to TikTok received millions of views. It was then shared across platforms, turned into memes and made fun of on television programmes.
Astronomer put out a statement announcing an investigation into the matter, without specifying the video. The statement read: "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. The Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly." Co-founder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy has been appointed interim CEO.
Astronomer's statement added that Mr Byron had not released a personal statement, and that reports saying otherwise were incorrect. It also said no other employees were in the video. Fake statements from Mr Byron went viral on Thursday.
According to the company’s LinkedIn page, Astronomer is a firm that focuses on mission-critical analytics, AI and software. It essentially streamlines workflows for data engineering.
Astronomer is also behind Astro, which is a DataOps platform that uses the work management software Apache Airflow. Astro builds “reliable data products that unlock insights, unleash AI value, and power data-driven applications.”
Astronomer offers solutions for implementing AI and Machine Learning into the workplace. It provides automation for a company’s analytics and reporting workflow. Astronomer also offers data observability.