Interim CEO of Astronomer Responds After Viral Kiss Cam Incident

The interim CEO of Astronomer has responded to the viral video incident that led to the resignation of his predecessor, Andy Byron. The company, known for its work with Apache Airflow and data infrastructure, suddenly found itself at the center of internet attention following a jumbotron clip from a Coldplay concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The video showed Byron and chief people officer Kristin Cabot sharing a kiss, which internet users quickly linked to their leadership roles at the Cincinnati-based startup.

Backlash and Resignation

Within a day of the video gaining traction, Astronomer confirmed Byron had been placed on leave and that a formal investigation was underway. A company spokesperson later identified both individuals. By Saturday, Astronomer publicly shared that Byron had officially resigned. In a LinkedIn post, the company stated: “Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”

Full Statement from the Interim CEO

On the heels of the resignation, the interim CEO released a full statement addressing the situation while reaffirming the company’s mission and future direction. Below is the unedited statement:

“Over the weekend, I stepped into the role of Interim CEO at Astronomer, a company that I’ve proudly poured my entire professional life into helping build.

Over the past few years, our business has experienced incredible growth. What was once a mission to help companies with Apache Airflow has turned into so much more. We’re privileged to sit at the center of our customers’ data & AI strategy, powering data pipelines behind in-game analytics of your favorite sports team, LLM powered chatbots for customer support, training AI for self-driving cars, and every mission-critical process in between.

The events of the past few days have received a level of media attention that few companies—let alone startups in our small corner of the data and AI world—ever encounter. The spotlight has been unusual and surreal for our team and, while I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name.

At Astronomer we have never shied away from challenges; a near-decade of building this business has tested us time and time again, and each time we’ve emerged stronger. From starting a software company in Cincinnati, Ohio, to keeping the lights on through the collapse of the bank that held all our cash, to scaling from 30 to 300 people during a global pandemic that demanded we do it all without ever being in the same room.

And yet, we’re still here.

We’re here because Astronomer is built by people who live to solve hard problems, stay late to fix what’s broken, and care deeply about doing things the right way. We’re here because our customers trust us with their most ambitious data & AI projects. And, most importantly, we’re here because the mission is bigger than any one moment.

I’m stepping into this role with a wholehearted commitment to taking care of our people and delivering for our customers. Astronomer’s foundation remains strong, built around the thriving Apache Airflow community. Our opportunity to build a DataOps platform for the age of AI remains massive. And our story is very much still being written.

To our team: thank you for your resilience & commitment to building something great. And to our community and customers: thank you for your trust. We won’t let you down.”

Looking Ahead

Despite the viral nature of the incident, Astronomer’s leadership is working to shift the focus back to the company’s long-term mission. As noted in the statement, the team has weathered challenges before—from banking instability to pandemic-driven remote scaling—and intends to move forward. While the Coldplay concert may have created unexpected visibility, the company is leaning into its role in the broader AI and data infrastructure landscape.