The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of New York-based tech start-up, Astronomer, Andy Byron, has resigned days after a roving camera caught him smooching his company’s chief people officer at a Coldplay concert.
The company announced in a statement that the embattled CEO tendered his letter of resignation, which the Board of Directors of the company accepted.
Astronomer said Byron failed to uphold the standard expected of the company’s leaders in both conduct and accountability.
The company said it would begin searching for its next chief executive. In the meantime, the company’s co-founder and chief product officer, Pete DeJoy, has stepped up as the interim CEO.
It would be recalled that Byron ran into troubled waters when the Kiss Cam at Coldplay’s Massachusetts concert caught him cuddling his chief people officer, Kristen Cabot.
The duo reacted with shock and horror when they found themselves beamed on the big screen in the stadium.
Cabot covered her face in shame, while Byron hid behind the railing.
Coldplay’s lead vocalist, Chris Martin, jocularly remarked that the duo were either cheating or were shy.
The duo’s trouble was compounded by the fact that a concert-goer, Grace Springer, just happened to be filming the audience at the concert at the exact time they were captured on the stadium’s big screen by Coldplay’s camera crew.
Springer uploaded the video on her TikTok page, where it went viral. It has amassed over 100 million views at the time of filing this report.
Netizens spared no time in identifying Byron.
Astronomer reacted by announcing that it would investigate the incident. It clarified that a statement credited to Byron online was fake.
The next day, the company sent its CEO on compulsory leave.
Now, the embattled executive has been taken out of the parade of its leaders on its website.
However, he is still on the company’s board of directors.
