• By Sakshi Srivastava
  • Sat, 19 Jul 2025 11:59 AM (IST)
  • Source:JND
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Coldplay Concert Incident: In the wake of a viral incident dubbed "ColdplayGate," AI startup Astronomer has officially placed CEOAndy Byron on leave and named cofounder Pete DeJoy as the interim CEO. The company acted swiftly after Byron and the company's Head of HR, Kristin Cabot, were caught on a stadium kiss cam at a Coldplay concert, sparking allegations of an inappropriate workplace relationship.

Viral Scandal Leads To Immediate Action

The embarrassing moment—caught on the jumbotron during a Coldplay concert in Boston—was widely circulated online and drew public attention for allegedly exposing an extramarital affair between Byron and Cabot. Both are reportedly married to other people. As online speculation intensified, Astronomer responded by placing both executives on leave and launching an internal investigation, according to Axios.

ALSO READ: Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, Kristin Cabot Caught Kissing At Coldplay Concert | Watch New Video

Despite the controversy, the company emphasized continuity: “Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy is currently serving as interim CEO given Andy Byron has been placed on leave. We will share more details as appropriate in the coming days,” Astronomer said in a public statement.

Who Is Pete DeJoy?

According to his LinkedIn profile, Pete DeJoy is a cofounder of Astronomer and currently serves as its Chief Product Officer. Based in Brooklyn, New York, DeJoy has been with the company since its early days in August 2017 and took on the CPO role full-time in February 2025. Prior to his appointment as CPO, he served as Senior Vice President of Products from May 2023 to early 2025, leading Astronomer’s global product portfolio. Before that, he was Vice President of the same team, marking a steady climb through the company’s product leadership ranks.

DeJoy is a former Fellow of Venture for America, a nonprofit fellowship program founded by entrepreneur Andrew Yang. He joined the fellowship in November 2016 and was placed in Detroit. His educational background includes a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and Physics from Bowdoin College, a liberal arts institution located on the coast of Maine.

ALSO READ: Viral Hug Costs Astronomer CEO His Job? Andy Byron Placed On Leave After Coldplay 'Kiss Cam' Video

In his own words on LinkedIn, DeJoy writes: “I lead Product at Astronomer, working with an incredible team of folks to deliver the world’s data via a portfolio of open-source and commercial products… On the open-source side, we are most well-known for being the largest contributor to the Apache Airflow project. On the commercial side, we deliver a platform designed to run, operate, and scale Airflow for mission-critical workloads...”