Not How They Wanted to Be Remembered

Last Wednesday two executives for the private AI/data services company Astronomer were spotted by the "kiss cam" at a Coldplay concert (see above video). President Andy Byron and Human Resources chief Kristin Cabot, who are married to other people, were caught in a friendly embrace and tried to conceal their identities too late.

Days after a video of Byron canoodling with the company’s HR chief nearly broke the internet, the company said Byron had resigned from his position. “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met,” Astronomer said Saturday...

In an instant, the video became a lightning rod for the public’s conflicting views on wealth, power and simmering frustrations toward the executive class, said Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, a professor of management at Yale University. “There’s a certain schadenfreude associated with this,” he said. “Here’s a takedown of the ‘haves’ versus the ‘have nots.’”

The online furor erupted shortly after the camera at the Coldplay concert panned to Byron and Cabot. “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” Coldplay frontman Chris Martin said from the stage, as Byron quickly ducked out of frame and Cabot covered her face and turned.

The viral popularity of the video taps into the state of the culture:

A relationship between senior executives can send a message that “the rules don’t apply to us,” said Deb Muller, chief executive of HR Acuity, a technology platform that helps companies track employee investigations and complaints. Employees, vendors, customers and investors may also question the integrity of leaders.

“You have to start using some judgment when you’re in senior-level positions,” Muller said.

It’s unclear what Astronomer’s policy is, but the company said Friday it had initiated a formal investigation into the matter.

Because of the risks associated with such clandestine relationships, corporate boards are less tolerant today of executive romances than they once were. McDonald’s in 2019 fired then-CEO Steve Easterbrook because of his consensual relationship with an employee. BP CEO Bernard Looney resigned in 2023 after the oil giant said he hadn’t been fully transparent about past personal relationships with colleagues. And last year, Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw was fired after a board probe found that his relationship with the railroad giant’s chief legal officer violated company policies.

None of those incidents, though, sparked the glee and gloating that the video of the Astronomer CEO and his HR chief have generated.

The schadenfreude that comes with the public takedown of a CEO, said Yale’s Sonnenfeld, “is elevated even more right now.”

CEO Andy Byron has resigned his position, and as of this writing there's no update on HR chief Kristin Cabot. Financially both should land on their feet, but their children will undoubtedly be damaged. Meanwhile, the mockery continues.