Only two Astronomer employees attended a Coldplay concert in Foxborough on July 16: CEO Andy Byron and head of HR Kristin Cabot. A stadium kiss cam captured them mid-hug, prompting public embarrassment and an onstage quip from Chris Martin. Byron and Cabot subsequently left the company. Co-founder Pete DeJoy assumed the chief executive role and spoke from Astronomer's new Flatiron headquarters in New York City. DeJoy's only prior public comment was a LinkedIn post thanking employees and omitting details of the incident. DeJoy framed the kiss-cam episode as an opportunity to spotlight company achievements while signaling discomfort and distancing himself from the episode.
They were swaying in mid-hug when the roving kiss cam, a staple at the band's performances, zeroed in on them. You have probably seen the clip of what happened next. The two of them scrambled like kids caught raiding a cookie jar. Even Coldplay's anodyne frontman Chris Martin couldn't ignore their response. "They're either having an affair, or they're just very shy," he remarked. The CEO and his subordinate are no longer with the company.
Astronomer, a billion-dollar startup you'd likely never heard of until last month, will never be the same. "We found out the way the rest of the world found out," says Pete DeJoy, who cofounded the company and took over as chief executive when Byron left. He's speaking to me from Astronomer's new headquarters in the Flatiron district of New York City.
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