HR exec caught on Coldplay cam resigns after embrace with CEO went viral

Key Points

• Executive Resignations: Kristin Cabot, HR executive at Astronomer, resigned after her viral embrace with CEO Andy Byron at a Coldplay concert, following Byron’s own departure amid an internal investigation.
• Viral Moment Impact: Their surprised reaction on the Jumbotron generated endless memes and led to a roughly 20% jump in online streams of Coldplay’s songs.
• Company Response: Astronomer removed both executives’ profiles from its website and deleted the press release announcing Cabot’s hire.
• About Astronomer: The New York–based tech firm provides a platform for large companies to organize and manage their data.

The executive who was caught on camera embracing the CEO of her company at a Coldplay concert in a moment that went viral has resigned.

The company, Astronomer, confirmed that its executive in charge of human resources has left.

“Kristin Cabot is no longer with Astronomer, she has resigned," spokesman Taylor Jones said in a brief statement.

Her departure follows the resignation of CEO Andy Byron, who quit after the company said he was being put on leave pending an investigation.

The episode resulted in endless memes, parody videos and screenshots of the pair’s shocked faces filling social media feeds

Cabot and Byron were caught by surprise when singer Chris Martin asked the cameras to scan the crowd for his “Jumbotron Song” during the concert last week at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

They were shown cuddling and smiling, but when they saw themselves on the big screen, Cabot's jaw dropped, her hands flew to her face and she spun away from the camera while Byron ducked out of the frame.

“Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy,” Martin joked in video that spread quickly around the internet.

When the video first spread online it wasn't immediately clear who they were, but online sleuths rapidly figured out their identities. The company has previously confirmed the identities of the couple in a statement to the AP.

Both of their profiles have been now removed from Astronomer's website and a November press release announcing her hiring has also been deleted.

Astronomer was a previously obscure tech company based in New York. It provides big companies with a platform that helps them organize their data.

Online streams of Coldplay's songs jumped 20% in the days after the video went viral, according to Luminate, an industry data and analytics company.