PERTH, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 18: Chris Martin of Coldplay performs on stage at Optus Stadium on November 18, 2023 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
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Astronomer, a provider of open-source technologies that was hardly known until this week, said on Friday that CEO Andy Byron has been placed on leave after he was shown on video at a Coldplay concert in an intimate embrace with the company’s head of human relations.
The company said in an emailed statement that co-founder and product chief Pete DeJoy is serving as interim CEO.
“We will share more details as appropriate in the coming days,” the company said.
Astronomer said earlier in the day in a post on X that it had launched a “formal investigation into this matter” and would soon have more to share.
“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability,” the company said.
The update on Byron comes a day after videos went viral on social media that showed the CEO on a big screen at the concert in Boston. Byron, who is married, had his arms around Kristin Cabot, the company’s chief people officer.
Seconds after showing up on the screen, the pair ducked and hid their faces.
In May, Astronomer announced a $93 million investment round led by Bain Ventures and other investors, including Salesforce Ventures.
The company, which is behind the open-source data operations platform Astro, relocated its headquarters last year to New York from Cincinnati, Ohio.
