Overview

• The board launched a formal inquiry after a kiss-cam moment at Coldplay’s July 16 Gillette Stadium concert showed CEO Andy Byron and Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot embracing.
• Byron resigned July 19 and Cabot stepped down July 24, leaving the New York startup under interim leadership.
• Over the weekend of July 25–26, Astronomer released a video starring Gwyneth Paltrow as a temporary spokesperson to highlight its core data pipeline automation services.
• In the promotional clip, Paltrow cheekily sidesteps scandal-related questions to promote the company’s Apache Airflow offerings and upcoming events.
• The kiss-cam episode drove a social media frenzy and a 20% jump in Coldplay streams, illustrating the cross-sector impact of online virality.