The billion-dollar tech firm CEO seen cozying up to a female colleague at a Coldplay concert gushed about the ‘perfect’ new hire in a press release – before astonishing kiss cam footage saw them huddling up in a viral TikTok.
Andrew Byron, the head of the AI startup Astronomer, was broadcast on the big screen at Boston’s Gillette Stadium with his arm around the company’s HR chief Kristin Cabot during the band’s gig on Tuesday night.
As public records suggest that both are married – but living at different addresses to each of their spouses registered abodes – it sparked a frenzy of memes on social media.
And now, a press release announcing Kristin’s appointment in November has resurfaced – featuring lauded praise from Andy, who is also facing renewed backlash about prior allegations that he ‘lashed out’ at employees in his previous job.
‘At Astronomer, our people are the most valuable asset in helping our customers do more to gain a competitive advantage with their data,’ he said in a statement.
‘Kristin’s exceptional leadership and deep expertise in talent management, employee engagement, and scaling people strategies will be critical as we continue our rapid trajectory.
‘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.’
Meanwhile, Kristin explained that she ‘preferred to think of her role as people strategy versus traditional human resources, as the real magic happens when you align the people strategy with the business strategy’.
‘There are plenty of companies out there where a leadership team doesn’t recognize the value that a strong people leader and people team can bring to a company,’ she added.
‘It’s not just about benefits or catered lunches. There’s so much more to it, and I was energized in my conversations with Andy and the Astronomer leadership team about the opportunities that exist here.’
Kristin is huge in the world of HR – and has ‘a proven track record of preserving and enriching company culture at organizations experiencing rapid growth’.
Andy is also facing scrutiny for claims about his allegedly unpopular management style from seven years ago.
According to a 2018 article from The Information, staff were left in ‘turmoil’ after he was made Chief Revenue Officer at tech security firm Cybereason, which was set up by former Israeli intelligence officials.
Within a year of being hired, Andy was reportedly ‘lashing out against employees who disagreed with him’ and ‘threatening to fire them’, as one former employee claimed: ‘You couldn’t challenge him’.
Insiders said that he contributed to a ‘180 on the culture’ at work. ‘People loved the company,’ one stated. ‘Now they hate it.’
As workers started to leave, Andy then was said to have brought in staff from his old company, Fuze.
Commenting on the situation to the outlet, Andy claimed he was ‘hired to help Cybereason reach its next phase of growth, which required change and “difficult decisions” that may have “disappointed some individuals”‘. He denied that any interactions with staff were ‘contentious’.
Then-CEO Lior Div described him as a ‘very solid sales leader’ and also denied that there were any ‘cultural’ problems with him.
Andy became CEO of Astronomer in 2023, and the startup rapidly grew under his tenure including a reported 292% growth in revenue for its ‘Astro’ platform that year.
The startup has been valued at over $1 billion, and last week Andy had appeared on New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) TV to celebrate the company.
Astronomer raised $93 million in its Series D round of financing, which Andy described as ‘a huge opportunity’ and ‘very exciting’ for the firm.
FEMAIL has reached out to Andy and Astronomer for comment.
Years later, Andy has once again found himself embroiled in controversy – as Chris Martin had the internet in stitches after catching the camera-shy couple by surprise and joked that they were ‘either having an affair’ or were just very bashful.
‘Oh look at these two! Oh what?’ he exclaimed in a video shared to TikTok – which has now racked up more than 5.8 million views – as they covered their faces and dived behind the barrier.
The duo, who were embracing one another as they swayed to the music and smiled, suddenly appeared in the footage projected across to the whole audience.
Embarrassed, the woman covered her face as she walked away from the viewpoint, while the man ducked down quickly – as the musician, 48, made his quip.
Memes abounded, with many thanking Coldplay for ‘bringing the whole internet together for one day.’
‘I would like to thank Coldplay for bringing the nation together. For a day, you fixed us,’ wrote another, while a third posted an image of Fred and Wilma Flinstone in a similar pose to the one Byron and Cabot were caught in on the kiss cam.
‘Coldplay’s Cameraman is a gem!’ giggled an X user over a photo of a cameraman with Leonardo DiCaprio’s cackling face in Django Unchained.
‘Next Board Meeting at Astronomer,’ wrote another, over a still of Jonah Hill presenting a professional chart to Brad Pitt in Moneyball – only with the chart covered up by a grab of Byron with his arm around Cabot.
‘Its the most rock n roll thing Coldplays ever done,’ marveled one observer as another chortled: ‘I bet Coldplay will create a new song in honor of the couple in question.’
‘Who did it better?’ vamped an Instagram user, comparing Byron holding Cabot to Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) holding Rose (Kate Winslet) from behind in the ‘I’m flying!’ scene from Titanic.
One X user posted a picture of Martin at the piano with the quip: ‘a CEO hates to see this man coming.’
MailOnline has reached out to Andy, Kristin and Astronomer for comment.
