A Coldplay concert, a jumbotron moment, and what looks uncomfortably like a workplace affair have triggered a PR storm around Andy Byron, CEO of data orchestration firm Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the company’s Chief People Officer.
During the band’s emotional encore at a packed show at Madison’s Camp, Wisconsin, cameras panned to Byron and Cabot in the crowd. The short clip, now viral, shows the two embracing before they quickly recoil and awkwardly duck out of frame; Byron sprinting out of view. Originally uploaded to TikTok, the moment, captured by the event’s big screen and immortalized online, has set Reddit and LinkedIn ablaze with speculation, memes, and not-so-subtle outrage.
Though neither Byron nor Cabot has made any public statements, Reddit sleuths quickly identified both executives, citing company bios and public appearances. Multiple users highlighted the personal stakes: Byron is married with two children. Cabot, Astronomer’s head of HR, is also believed to be in a committed relationship. It should be noted that the pair’s embrace during the show does not necessarily mean they are in a relationship — though it certainly doesn’t look appropriate!
The reaction online has ranged from comedic to brutal. Comments like “What infidelity taught me about B2B sales” and “Some jobs shouldn’t be scheduled in parallel, Andy” topped LinkedIn, while Reddit users dissected the body language and context with characteristic ruthlessness. One Redditor summed up the mood: “Had they played it cool, nobody would have noticed.”
But they didn’t.
Their visible panic is what pushed the clip into viral territory. It’s a sequence of slow realization, shared glances, and a bolt for cover that only seemed to confirm what many now believe: this wasn’t just an innocent moment between colleagues.
The incident has already made waves beyond social platforms. Byron’s most recent LinkedIn post, which was a promotional blurb for Astronomer’s upcoming virtual DataOps conference, was flooded with sarcastic responses and offhanded jabs. Within hours, the comments were locked.
“Excited for this,” one user quipped, attaching a popcorn emoji. Others asked if the discount code included legal consultation or marital counseling. One joked, “LinkedIn has become Love Island”, while another pointed out the cruel irony of being outed at a concert known for its emotional ballads. Coldplay lyrics, naturally, made multiple appearances: “When you try your best but you don’t succeed…”
As of now, Astronomer has not issued any public statement. But given the nature of the roles involved the potential conflict of interest is significant. A romantic relationship between a CEO and a senior HR executive, particularly one that may involve secrecy and deception, raises ethical and governance concerns that any board would be compelled to address. Ironically, from Cabot’s LinkedIn:
Several Reddit users are already predicting resignations, with one saying simply, “I love the smell of emergency board meetings in the morning.”
At the very least, Byron and Cabot will be facing a company full of employees who’ve already watched the clip and a broader industry now questioning their leadership.
