Astronomer CEO Andy Byron resigns after viral Coldplay kiss-cam controversy

Astronomer CEO Andy Byron resigns after viral Coldplay kiss-cam controversy


Chris Martin of Coldplay performs at the O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire on October 12, 2021 in London, England.

Simone Joyner | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images

Astronomer, the technology company that faced backlash after its CEO was allegedly caught in an affair at a Coldplay concert, said the CEO has resigned, the company announced Saturday.

“Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted,” the company said in a statement. “The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO.”

Byron was shown on a big screen at a Coldplay concert on Wednesday with his arms around the company’s chief people officer, Kristin Cabot. Byron, who is married with children, immediately hid when the couple was shown on screen. Lead singer Chris Martin said, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.” A concert attendee’s video of the affair went viral.

In May, Astronomer announced a $93 million investment round led by Bain Ventures and other investors, including Salesforce Ventures.

Byron’s resignation comes after Astronomer said Friday that it had launched a “formal investigation” into the matter, and the CEO was placed on administrative leave.

“Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI,” the company said in its Saturday statement. “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”



Source

Trump sues JPMorgan, Intel’s soft guidance, TikTok’s joint venture and more in Morning Squawk
Technology

Trump sues JPMorgan, Intel’s soft guidance, TikTok’s joint venture and more in Morning Squawk

This is CNBC’s Morning Squawk newsletter. Subscribe here to receive future editions in your inbox. Happy Friday. With TikTok guaranteeing its presence in the U.S. (which we cover below), it looks like my screen time will remain far higher than it should be. Stock futures ticked lower this morning. The market is coming off another winning day. […]

Read More
This year could be ‘make or break’ for OpenAI as investors turn their eyes to profit
Technology

This year could be ‘make or break’ for OpenAI as investors turn their eyes to profit

Key Points Investor scrutiny is set to increase this year as AI foundation model developers chart their way to becoming public companies, analysts said. It will be a “make or break” year for such companies, and OpenAI looks particularly “extended,” according to a Deutsche Bank note. “The key question is whether enterprise monetization, pricing power, […]

Read More
Xiaomi announces HK.5 billion buyback as competition and cost pressures weigh on stock
Technology

Xiaomi announces HK$2.5 billion buyback as competition and cost pressures weigh on stock

Xiaomi logo at an exhibition in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China on November 1, 2025. Cfoto | Future Publishing | Getty Images Chinese tech giant Xiaomi saw its shares pop over 2% in trading on Friday after it announced a stock buyback program worth up to HK$2.5 billion ($321 million).  The repurchase plan comes as the […]

Read More