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Andy Byron resigned as CEO of Astronomer on Saturday, following the Coldplay kiss cam scandal that captured him embracing the company’s HR chief.
A statement released by the company said the company has a clear standard for conduct, accountability, and behaviour in line with its values. The recent actions of Byron failed to meet that standard, the company said.
Astronomer’s Board of Directors accepted Byron’s resignation, with the chief executive stepping down from his role immediately. Chief Product Officer and Byron’s fellow co-founder Pete DeJoy has been appointed interim CEO.
While the company’s investigation continues, plenty have focused their attention on the future of Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot, after she (alongside Byron) was placed on temporary leave on Friday.
As an HR chief embroiled in a scandal about an alleged workplace affair with the CEO, just how tenable is her position?
Astronomer CEO’s resignation – what we know so far
On Thursday and Friday, the internet descended into chaos after footage showed the former chief exec embracing his HR Chief at a Coldplay concert in Boston on Wednesday.
Both ducked out of shot after realising they were being filmed, prompting Coldplay frontman Chris Martin to comment: “Oh, what...either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
A TikTok of the footage subsequently went viral, racking up over 120 million views and prompting allegations of an affair, countless memes, and plenty of brand responses, from Netflix to Paramount Pictures and Tesla to the New York City Department of Sanitation.
After nearly 48 hours, Astronomer finally broke its silence to give an update on Byron’s position and correct false rumors about the incident.
“As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding,” the statement said. “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,” it continued. “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.”
In an earlier statement confirming it was investigating the incident, Astronomer addressed speculation that the company’s Director of People, Alyssa Stoddard also at the Coldplay gig.
“Stoddard was not at the event and no other employees were in the video,” it said.
As Astronomer’s CEO departs… will its HR chief be next?
In the aftermath of the viral video, plenty of people have focused on Byron’s position as CEO, Cabot’s role in Astronomer’s HR team, and what the implications would be for the leadership group moving forward.
In a statement shared before Byron’s resignation, Peter Davenport, a Senior Strategic Consultant specializing in crisis communications at Definition, warned that the position of Byron and Cabot may be untenable, with either the leaders or the Board deciding to part ways.
“These things also have internal ramifications, so the position of the two involved in this case can quickly become untenable,” he told HR Grapevine. “CEOs are the face of their business, and that carries both professional and personal responsibilities, especially when organizations espouse values that senior executives fail to live up to.”
“Of course, the individuals themselves may decide to resign,” he added, warning that the individual behaviours of senior executives can have “hugely damaging impacts on the organizations they lead.”
While Byron decided the time was right to leave his post, amid the investigation by Astronomer’s board, it is currently not clear whether Cabot will follow him out of the exit door.
Astronomer said it would provide further updates in due course. That notice, however, has not stopped social media-fuelled speculation and debate.
In a LinkedIn poll shared by Liz Ryan, an HR expert and influencer with nearly 3 million LinkedIn followers, over 90% of 8,500 respondents said the HR exec should also be asked to leave.
Some HR experts and employment lawyers also suggested it will not be long before Cabot exits. William Cafaro, co-counsel at New York-based Buzin Law, said: “She’s just about certain to be removed from her position, because how can you have someone in HR who is having an affair with the CEO imposing or making disciplinary decisions over any other employees. That’s ludicrous.”
HR ‘investigation’ must play out in full
Many others, however, have argued that it would come down to the company policy, and if, upon the conclusion of a full and thorough investigation into the incident, Cabot was judged to have violated that policy.
“If the company policy states that employees are not allowed to engage in extra professional affairs then both should leave or be asked to leave,” one user commented under Ryan’s poll.
“If there is no such company policy in place, then it’s their personal matter. Then the company should not be taking a stance whatsoever,” they suggested.
Without such a policy, it would be down to the HR chief to make a personal choice on her future employment, including her ability and confidence to lead the department effectively.
Accordingly, although the internet’s relentless rumor mill inevitably demands swift action – and Astronomer’s comms team will hope for a quick resolution to the investigation – patience and due process must come first.
Whatever happens next, there’s no doubt the next few months will be an uphill battle for Astronomer’s entire executive team as they look to rebuild trust and confidence in their leadership and the HR department.
The best we can do is offer them a little inspiration. Does anyone know any songs about a promise to ‘fix’ things?
