Astronomer has released a statement after their CEO Andy Byron was caught cheating on his wife with HR chief, Kristin Cabot at the Coldplay concert in Boston.
Singer Chris Martin has a famous tradition of panning the camera on different members of the crowd and making up impromptu songs about them.
The camera panned round to the couple and Byron had his arms around Cabot in a romantic embrace. They also looked very happy, as if they were on a romantic date.
However, when they realized the camera was on them, things took a very awkward turn. Cabot turned her face from the camera and hid behind her hands.
As for the CEO…he ducked down to get away from the camera. Martin then joked “Either they’re having an affair or they’re very shy.” causing the audience to laugh.
Well, the moment was filmed by the audience and very quickly went viral on social media. Internet sleuths have since discovered that the CEO of the billion dollar tech company is married to someone else and has two children with his wife, while Cabot is also married.
The companies senior director of people Alyssa Stoddard was there also, clearly looking embarrassed and uncomfortable in the moment.
According to one clip shared on TikTok, Byron allegedly said ‘F**king hell, it’s me” while Cabot allegedly said “This is awkward”.
One person online has labelled her reaction to them getting caught as the “entire HR department’s response”.
Ironically, Cabot’s LinkedIn profile claims she “wins trust with employees of all levels, from CEOs to assistants.” This has of course become a running joke online, with one person writing: “She definitely built trust with the CEO,”.
A “statement” was released, allegedly by Byron – but it has since come out that statement was a fake.
It read: “I want to acknowledge the moment that’s been circulating online, and the disappointment it’s caused.
“What was supposed to be a night of music and joy turned into a deeply personal mistake play-out out on a very public stage. I want to sincerely apologize to my wife, my family, and my team at Astronomer. You deserve better from me as a partner, as a father, and as a leader.
“This is not who I want to be or how I want to represent the company I helped build. I’m taking time to reflect, take accountability, and figure out the next steps, personally and professionally. I ask for privacy as I navigate that process.
“I also want to express how troubling it is that what should have been a private moment became public without my consent. I respect artists and entertainers, but I hope we can all think more deeply about the impact of turning someone else’s life into a spectacle.
“As a friend once sang: ‘Lights will guide you home, and ignite your bones, and I will try to fix you.”
It has also come out that in November 2024, Byron gushed about Cabot online. He wrote: “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.”
The press release continued: [Cabot] “has a proven track record of preserving and enriching company culture at organizations experiencing rapid growth,”.
Cabot was also quoted as saying she was left “energized in my conversations with Andy and the Astronomer leadership team about the opportunities that exist here.”
Byron’s wife, Megan Kerrigan Byron, has responded to the scandal.
She has made it clear she is stepping away from her husband publicly, by removing his last name from her social media.
She has since deleted her own social media pages.
Talk about karma…
