CEO scandal caught on camera: Who is the second woman?

The fallout continues after Andy Byron, CEO of the artificial intelligence startup Astronomer, a married father of two, and Kristin Cabot, a human resources manager, were caught on a kiss cam at a Coldplay concert in Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA.

The moment when the couple quickly moved away from each other and hid when they realized they were being projected onto a giant screen has been trending on social media for days.

While the incident received significant media attention, the identity of a third woman in the right corner of the screen also became a subject of debate.

Some users speculated that the person was Alyssa Stoddard, a recently promoted Astronomer employee. However, the company denied these claims in a statement.

"ALYSSA WAS NOT THERE"

Negative comments began to pour into Stoddard's LinkedIn account, with users assuming the person in question was Alyssa Stoddard.

For example, one user wrote, "Well done! You were hired to keep secrets, but you failed within five months."

However, a brief statement from Astronomer stated that only Byron and Cabot were featured in the footage: “Alyssa Stoddard was not at the event, and no other employees appear in the video.”

CHRIS MARTIN ALSO COMMENTED

Coldplay frontman Chris Martin's humorous comment on stage was also effective in making the incident go viral.

In videos circulating on TikTok, Martin can be heard saying into a microphone, "What's going on? They're either in a relationship or they're just really shy." Soon after, realizing the impact he's made, Martin adds, "I hope we didn't do anything bad."

CEO dismissed

Following the backlash, Astronomer's board of directors launched a formal investigation. The company's statement read: “The Board of Directors has launched a formal investigation into this matter. We will share more information very soon. At Astronomer, we are committed to the values and culture we have embraced since our founding. Our leaders are expected to lead by example in both behavior and accountability.”

The company recently announced that CEO Andy Byron has been removed from office and replaced by Pete DeJoy, one of the company's co-founders, on an interim basis.