American CEOs are in an uproar over Astronomer’s boss’s affair scandal: A series of former employees simultaneously “expose” the scandal, at risk of “losing their seats”

The Coldplay concert scandal is causing a stir among American CEOs.

Andy Byron has been CEO since July 2023 at Astronomer – a DataOps startup valued at around $1 billion. Previously, he held sales and operations leadership positions at many technology companies such as Lacework, Cybereason (CRO), Fuze, BMC Software, etc. The CEO’s personal assets are estimated to be around $20–70 million, mainly from shares in Astronomer and previous companies.

Known for his private lifestyle, Andy Byron lives with his wife Megan Kerrigan Byron and their two children in New York. Although he seems to be living a peaceful life, his wife, who works in the education sector (Associate Director at Bancroft School), recently removed the “Byron” name from her personal Facebook page, even deactivating her account after her husband’s ‘Kiss Cam’ affair scandal at Coldplay.

Specifically, at the Coldplay concert in Boston on July 16, 2025, in the “Kiss Cam” segment, the camera recorded Andy Byron hugging HR director Kristin Cabot, who had just joined the company in late 2024. The video quickly went viral on TikTok/X, attracting millions of views and a series of comments on the topic of “adultery” or “inappropriate relationships in the company”. Although they did not confirm their relationship beyond colleagues, both appeared confused and tried to hide it when reporters discovered it.

Astronomer has yet to officially respond to the scandal. Byron has also temporarily locked or deleted his personal LinkedIn account.

After the incident, some former employees began to speak out, accusing Byron of being an “authoritarian” leader who put a lot of pressure on the team. They recounted that Byron often shouted in front of employees, used offensive language, and threatened to “fire the whole department” if KPIs were not met.

Many people told the press that they were not surprised to see Byron involved in a love scandal at the Coldplay event. They said that Byron’s public loss of reputation was “a worthy price” for the way he treated his employees. However, it is undeniable that he has a lot of experience, a lot of achievements and a high income.

The scandal has put Byron’s personal life in the spotlight. The long-term consequences are unclear, but on a personal level, the scandal could affect Byron’s personal reputation and the internal environment at Astronomer – especially since this story involves a senior executive and the person in charge of human resources policy.

In an age where leadership no longer stops behind the office door, every action outside of work has the potential to impact an entire company. In the case of Andy Byron, the head of a company worth more than $1 billion, he probably had no idea that a personal moment captured during that event would plunge his company into such a complex internal culture crisis.

What has caused a strong reaction from the public and experts is the position of power of both in the company, in which one has the power to appoint, evaluate and fire, while the other has the power to control the entire system, ensuring that the office culture is maintained healthily. When their personal relationship is made public, even if it is consensual, the result is a collapse of internal trust. Employees will ask: “Is this why the HR director was appointed?”

It’s no surprise that the tech community—which is increasingly sensitive to ethical standards—has been calling this a classic case of extramarital affairs. From a governance perspective, a romantic relationship (if any) between two senior executives should be disclosed and handled clearly through independent channels. But according to sources, Astronomer has no formal policy on internal relationships between executives, nor an independent reporting system outside of HR. This puts the company in a passive position when a scandal occurs: there is no internal process for handling crises, and no way to protect employees.

From an after-hours event, Astronomer now faces potential legal risks. First, there is the risk of being sued for lack of transparency in hiring – if evidence emerges that Kristin Cabot was promoted or given preferential treatment because of a personal relationship, shareholders could challenge the Board. Next, there is the risk of an unfair work environment – other employees could allege that they feel unsafe, or lack confidence in the HR system.

The situation is further complicated by the fact that both the CEO and the HR director hold significant stakes in the company and Astronomer is in the midst of its next expansion and fundraising phase. A personal scandal that is not handled properly could lead to investors pulling out or demanding a CEO replacement, as has happened to many large startups in Silicon Valley.

More broadly, Astronomer’s story is a vivid example of the “blurred ethical lines” in tech startups – where flat culture and freelancing are often mistaken for “freedom from responsibility.” The incident not only exposed an ethical gap, but also showed that many tech companies still lack solid processes for handling “human” situations – something that technology cannot replace.

“The most pitiful person right now!”, netizens shared when referring to Andy Byron’s wife.

After Astronomer CEO Andy Byron was caught cheating with a subordinate at a Coldplay concert, it went viral on social media.

Many people also quickly searched for information about the other half of Andy Byron and Kristin Cabot when they learned that both were married. Especially the wife of the CEO of this shocking cheating technology company.

Rare photos of Andy Byron’s family before the shocking “affair” was discovered.

According to The Economic Times, Andy Byron’s wife is Megan Kerrigan Byron. Both are said to be living in New York, USA with two children.

Megan Kerrigan Byron, 50, is an educator. She serves as Associate Director of Elementary Admissions and the Hope Graham Program at the prestigious Bancroft School in Massachusetts.

According to foreign media, although she is the wife of a technology CEO, Kerrigan is very private about her personal life. The couple has never shared about their marriage or children with the media.

However, before the scandal of her husband’s infidelity broke out, Megan Kerrigan Byron still regularly shared family moments, photos with her children and husband on Facebook.

However, the “Internet Conan” quickly realized that Megan Kerrigan Byron’s first move after her husband’s intimate clip with the mistress at the event was to delete her husband’s name from her Facebook profile, then lock her personal Facebook page after the video went viral on TikTok. This action was immediately understood as a signal that the couple’s marital status was falling into crisis after the incident.

After her husband’s intimate clip with the mistress at the event was exposed, Megan Kerrigan Byron deleted her husband’s name from her Facebook profile and removed her cover photo.

The media has contacted and texted Megan Kerrigan Byron, but she has not shared anything about the incident or decided whether to divorce or not.

On many forums, internet users expressed sympathy for Megan, believing that she was quietly maintaining her personal dignity in a painful situation. Many people posted messages on social networks, sending words of encouragement and comfort to Megan Kerrigan Byron. Many also said that they were even more upset when searching for information about Megan Kerrigan Byron and found that she was a good woman, a mother and a wife who sacrificed for her family.

“She is the most pitiful person right now. Not only was she betrayed by her husband, but the whole country also knows about it”, “But I want her to know that everyone is on her side. Her husband did something very wrong, she should take more decisive actions, hopefully she will be happy in the future”, “I feel sorry for the wife, it must be a big shock, because I heard that he is also secretive”,… are comments from netizens.

This embarrassing moment is being widely shared on social media.

Currently, a document is circulating in the media that is said to be an apology letter from Andy Byron, but its authenticity is unclear. In it, the technology CEO mentions his wife: “I want to sincerely apologize to my wife, my family, and the team at Astronomer. You deserve better from me – as a partner, a father, and a leader. This is not who I want to be, nor how I want to represent the company I helped build.” 

According to international media, Andy Byron has taken on the position of CEO of Astronomer since July 2023. Kristin Cabot is the Human Resources Director of Astronomer. She has joined the company for 9 months, always confidently affirming her professionalism, commenting that she is someone that employees and superiors trust.

Currently, this adultery scandal is still receiving much attention from netizens.