Astronomer HR exec isn’t out of woods over Coldplay concert cuddle even though boss has resigned, expert says

The Astronomer HR boss who was caught cuddling up to her CEO at a Coldplay concert in a viral clip is not out of the woods yet, experts say. 

Kristin Cabot, the Chief People Officer at the AI startup, has been placed on leave at the company despite her alleged fling, Andy Byron, resigning last week following a brief internal investigation. 

While Byron was ousted following a successful two years in the top job that saw Astronomer grow rapidly, firing Cabot could prove difficult for the tech firm, legal insiders warn. 

‘In a real-world big company, you can’t just fire someone because the headlines are ugly,’ attorney Nicole Brenecki told the New York Post. 

‘There are likely contracts, internal investigations, and legal issues involved.’ 

Cabot and Byron were ridiculed when they were caught in a kiss-cam moment at a Coldplay concert in Boston that saw them quickly try to hide from the camera, leading frontman Chris Martin to quip: ‘Either they’re having an affair, or they’re just very shy.’  

However, Brenecki said that while sacking Cabot merely for the social media infamy the moment brought on Astronomer could be tricky, she may not yet be out of trouble. 

‘If HR greenlit what happened with Coldplay, and there is a supporting paper trail, heads will likely roll. It just might take a few more days before the ax drops,’ the attorney said. 

For Cabot, scrutiny on her status after the Coldplay clip saw Daily Mail exclusively reveal that she is currently married to another CEO. 

Despite cuddling up to her CEO Byron, Massachusetts property documents dated in January confirmed that Cabot is currently married to Andrew Cabot, the chief executive of Privateer Rum, a Massachusetts-based booze maker.

It is unclear exactly when the pair tied the knot, but the documents confirm that Kristin, whose maiden name is Stanek, was married at the time of selling a $1.8m property in Watertown, Mass, earlier this year.

Privateer Rum’s website lists Andrew Cabot as its CEO and COO of the company, and public documents show that he has been married at least twice before, in 1993 and 2014.

He shares two children with his first wife Maud, who shared a picture of her ex-husband with Kristin looking loved up at his daughters 25th birthday party on social media in April of last year.

Kristin even posed with his son Henry, 30, in the snaps, and was seen wearing a wedding ring at the event – which was missing during her cozy Coldplay date with Byron.

The couple are also referred to as ‘husband and wife’ in New Hampshire property records, buying a $2.2million two-story, four-bedroom New Englander-style house in Rye, in February.

They sold another four-bedroom property nearby for $1.05m in February, after purchasing it in April of last year.

Kristin’s now-deleted LinkedIn account showed that she has served as an ‘advisory board member’ at Privateer Rum since September 2020.

Although Byron was humiliated as he was ousted from the company following a brief investigation by Astronomer’s board of directors, Cabot has seemingly remained in her executive role. 

And Astronomer’s replacement for Byron, interim CEO Pete DeJoy, surprised many as he gushed over the viral infamy in his first statement since entering the hotseat this week. 

He appeared to suggest he was thrilled by the Coldplay incident, and celebrated the fact Astronomer is now a household name thanks to the saga.

He wrote: ‘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.

‘I’m stepping into this role with a wholehearted commitment to taking care of our people and delivering for our customers. Astronomer’s foundation remains strong, built around the thriving Apache Airflow community.’

He added that the company ‘won’t let you down.’