2025-07-21T17:02:42Z<\/p>\n
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Facebook Email X<\/p>\n LinkedIn<\/p>\n Reddit<\/p>\n Bluesky<\/p>\n WhatsApp<\/p>\n Copy link<\/p>\n lighning bolt icon Impact Link<\/p>\n Save <\/p>\n Read in app<\/p>\n <\/a> <\/p>\n This story is available exclusively to Business Insider Talk about starting a job at a challenging time.<\/p>\n Pete DeJoy, the interim CEO of Astronomer, has spoken out about the scandal roiling the tech company.<\/p>\n His predecessor, Andy Byron, recently resigned<\/a> after a kiss cam at a Coldplay concert showed Byron embracing the firm’s HR head, Kristin Cabot. After realizing they were on camera, Byron and Cabot tried to hide or dart off camera, igniting a viral internet meme.<\/p>\n “The events of the past few days have received a level of media attention that few companies\u2014let alone startups in our small corner of the data and AI world\u2014ever encounter,” DeJoy wrote in a post<\/a> on Monday. “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.”<\/p>\n The clip of the incident went viral last week, and Astronomer said in a statement Friday that Byron was placed on leave<\/a> and that DeJoy, cofounder and chief product officer, was made interim CEO. The company also said the board had initiated a formal investigation<\/a>.<\/p>\n The company announced a day later that Byron had submitted his resignation<\/a> and that the board would begin searching for his replacement, with DeJoy filling the position in the interim.<\/p>\n “At Astronomer we have never shied away from challenges; a near-decade of building this business has tested us time and time again, and each time we’ve emerged stronger,” DeJoy wrote in his post Monday.<\/p>\n The incident has been making the rounds on the internet, with companies and brands’ social pages even getting in on the action<\/a>. At various sports games over the weekend, fans memed the moment with over-the-top reenactments of the incident during that were shown on jumbotrons.<\/p>\n
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