Tech CEO Steps Down Following Backlash Over Coldplay Concert Video

• Astronomer CEO Andy Byron resigns after kiss-cam video with HR head went viral at Coldplay concert.
• Board places Byron on leave, appoints co-founder Pete DeJoy as interim CEO pending new executive search.

The CEO of an IT company who was seen in a widely circulated video embracing an employee at a Coldplay concert has resigned. Andy Byron, CEO of Cincinnati-based Astronomer Inc., has resigned, according to a company statement posted on LinkedIn.

"Astronomer remains committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our inception. "Our leaders are expected to set the standard in terms of conduct and accountability, and that standard was recently not met," the company stated in a LinkedIn post.

The move comes a day after the company announced that Byron had been placed on leave and that the board of directors had initiated a formal investigation into the jumbotron incident, which went viral. 

A company spokesman later confirmed in a statement to the Associated Press that the video featured Byron and Astronomer chief people officer Kristin Cabot.

The brief video clip shows Byron and Cabot as seen on the jumbotron at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, during a Coldplay concert on Wednesday.

Lead singer Chris Martin directed the cameras to scan the crowd for his "Jumbotron Song," in which he sings a few lines about the people the camera focuses on. "Either they're having an affair or they're just very shy," he said.

Also Read: Coldplay's Disney+ Hotstar Concert Hits 8.3M Views and 165M Minutes

Internet sleuths identified the man as the CEO of a company based in the United States, and the woman as the Chief People Officer.

Astronomer's cofounder and chief product officer, Pete DeJoy, has been named interim CEO while the company searches for Byron's successor.