The chief executive of New York-based tech firm Astronomer, Andy Byron, has resigned after a video of him embracing a fellow executive at a Coldplay concert went viral, sparking a firestorm of online discussion about corporate leadership and conduct.
In a statement shared with CNN on Saturday, Astronomer’s board of directors confirmed it had accepted Mr. Byron’s resignation and that a search for a permanent successor would commence immediately.
The controversy began on Wednesday when Byron was featured on the “kiss cam” at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The video showed him with Kristin Cabot, the company’s chief people officer, before the pair appeared to embrace and then ducked out of the camera’s view. The clip quickly circulated across social media platforms.
In the wake of the incident, Astronomer moved to control the narrative. The company issued a statement on LinkedIn refuting “incorrect” reports that Byron had personally acknowledged the situation online. That post also sought to correct the misidentification of a third individual seen in the widely shared clip.
On Saturday, the company released a more definitive statement addressing the leadership change. “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met,” the statement read.
The data operations company, founded in 2018, acknowledged the sudden surge in public awareness. “Awareness of our company may have changed overnight,” the firm stated, but stressed that its mission to solve complex data and artificial intelligence problems remains its core focus.
To ensure stability, Astronomer announced on Friday that co-founder and chief product officer, Pete DeJoy, would step into the role of interim CEO. Following the announcement, Mr. Byron’s public profile was swiftly scrubbed; his LinkedIn account is no longer public, and his biography has been removed from the company’s official leadership page, which now lists Mr. DeJoy as CEO.
However, in a notable detail, the company’s website still lists Andy Byron as a serving member of its board of directors. CNN was unable to reach Mr. Byron for comment on the matter.