Astronomer CEO Andy Byron RESIGNS after viral kiss cam video at Coldplay concert

The CEO of Astronomer, Andy Byron, has resigned after he was caught canoodling with his Head of HR at a Coldplay concert in the US this week, the company has confirmed.

The tech firm said its boss had tendered his resignation, and the board of directors had accepted it. Mr Byron, who is married, was spotted in an embrace with his colleague, Kristin Cabot, on the kiss cam at the band's concert in Boston, Massachusetts.

In the clip, which has gone viral on social media, Mr Byron can be seen quickly moving out of sight while Ms Cabot covers her face and turns around. Their reaction prompted Coldplay singer Chris Martin to joke that they were either "having an affair or just very shy."

READ MORE: Astronomer launches probe into CEO Andy Byron after Coldplay kiss cam scandal

As the video was published online, Mr Byron and Ms Cabot were identified as colleagues - and Astronomer said it had launched an investigation. The company then shared a further update, saying that Mr Byron had been placed on leave, with Chief Product Officer and co-founder Pete DeJoy serving as interim CEO.

However, in its latest update this evening, Astronomer said Mr Byron has resigned. The company said in a statement shared on LinkedIn and X: "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. Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted.

"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. Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI.

"While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not. We're continuing to do what we do best: helping our customers with their toughest data and AI problems."

LinkedIn posts showed that Ms Cabot joined the company nine months ago with her title being Chief People Officer - and at the time Mr Byron praised her "exceptional leadership and deep expertise in talent management, employee engagement, and scaling people strategies" which he said would "be critical as we continue our rapid trajectory." He wrote in a press release: "She is a proven leader at multiple growth-stage companies and her passion for fostering diverse, collaborative workplaces makes her a perfect fit for Astronomer."

Ms Cabot was equally enthused, and wrote about being "energised in my conversations with Andy and the Astronomer leadership team and the opportunities that exist here." She added: "I prefer to think of my role as people strategy versus traditional human resources, as the real magic happens when you align the people strategy with the business strategy."

Byron has been the CEO of the software development company since July 2023. Astronomer is reportedly worth more than $1.3billion (£1b). The Economic Times suggest his net worth stands anywhere between $20million (£14.8m) and $70million (£52m).