New Astronomer CEO breaks silence on Coldplay kiss – Business News
The new interim CEO of Astronomer broke his silence on the Coldplay “kiss cam” scandal — and gushed that the small, New York-based AI firm is now a “household name.”
Brooklynite Pete DeJoy, the company’s co-founder, took the reins at Astronomer over the weekend after its disgraced boss Andy Byron resigned after being caught on the kiss cam cozying up with Kristin Cabot, the company’s head of HR.
“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,” DeJoy mentioned in a LinkedIn post on Monday.
Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and head of HR Kristin Cabot caught on the kiss cam. Grace Springer through Storyful
Astronomer interim CEO Pete Dejoy broke his silence after the Coldplay scandal that rocked the company. LinkedIn / Pete DeJoy
“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.” he added.
Byron, after being noticed on the kiss cam along with his arms wrapped round Cabot finally week’s Coldplay live performance in Boston, actually ducked out of view as Cabot turned her back to the digicam and rushed to cowl her face along with her arms.
That prompted the band’s frontman Chris Martin to quip: “Either they’re having an affair or they’re very shy.”
Astronomer’s interim CEO Pete DeJoy broke his silence on the kiss cam second. LinkedIn / Pete DeJoy
The snafu made headlines and rapidly discovered itself the butt of many a joke, with each the Phillies and “SportsCenter” anchors recreating the mortifying second.
DeJoy, who beforehand served as Astronomer’s chief product officer, seemingly embraced the viral bit — and took the chance to plug his company.
“At Astronomer we have never shied away from challenges,” DeJoy mentioned Monday.
“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.”
Andy Byron resigned as CEO of Astronomer over the weekend. LinkedIn/Andy Byron
Just a few months earlier than the scandal, the privately-held software program firm raised almost $100 million from main traders together with Bain Capital, Salesforce, Venrock and Meritech.
So far, none of these traders have commented on the viral uproar surrounding the company.
The interim boss additionally made his feedback on Monday after the company’s staff final week had been ordered to remain mum on the scandal.
Kristin Cabot was caught up within the scandal. She labored at Astronomer because the Chief People Officer. kristinthornby/linkedin
Employees at Astronomer’s Manhattan workplace advised The Post they had been directed to keep quiet concerning the scandal.
“Nope, we’re not allowed to talk about it,” one employee mentioned.
To date, the company has raised more than $350 million from exterior traders because it was based in 2015, in line with information from Crunchbase and different funding trackers.
Other companies listed as traders on Astronomer’s web site embody JP Morgan Chase, Insight Partners, Sierra Ventures, Sutter Hill Ventures and KS Global.
DeJoy was a key member of the group that constructed the information company in 2017, in line with his LinkedIn.
The entrance web page of the New York Post on Sunday, July 20.
Here is the most recent on the CEO caught dishonest on a Coldplay live performance jumbotron
He began Astronomer when he was recent out of school, having graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine – a personal, liberal arts faculty with a roughly $65,000 tuition price tag.
DeJoy was promoted to senior vice president in 2023 earlier than his promotion to chief product officer in February.
