The viral Coldplay ‘kiss cam’ moment that took the internet by storm earlier this month has now led to two high-profile resignations at a US-based tech firm.
Kristin Cabot, Chief People Officer of AI and data firm Astronomer, has reportedly resigned after she was filmed in a close embrace with the company’s then-CEO, Andy Byron, during a Coldplay concert near Boston on July 16.
The kiss cam video showed the pair swaying to music before they noticed the camera and abruptly ducked out of view. Coldplay frontman Chris Martin commented live, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
Social media sleuths quickly identified the couple, sparking widespread speculation and media coverage. Soon after, Astronomer placed Byron on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. He resigned from the company on July 20.
Now, the company has told the BBC that Cabot is also no longer with Astronomer.
Pete DeJoy, co-founder and Chief Product Officer, has stepped in as interim CEO while the company begins its search for a permanent replacement.
Despite the unexpected attention, Astronomer maintains that its operations are unaffected.
Astronomer acknowledged that the awareness of their company “changed overnight” due to the incident but “our product and our work for our customers have not.”
“We’re continuing to do what we do best: helping our customers with their AI problems,” the company said in a statement.