Truth behind woman smiling in viral Coldplay video after CEO was caught with employee on jumbotron
Here's the truth behind the woman who was smiling in the viral Coldplay concert video that saw a company CEO cosying up with an employee and consequently lose his job.
In footage that quickly went viral online, now former Astronomer CEO Andy Byron was getting on extremely well with the company's Chief People Officer, Kristin Cabot, at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough in Massachusetts.
In the footage, Byron - who is married - appeared to have his arms around Cabot while she leaned back into his chest and held onto his hands.
Coldplay frontman Chris Martin called attention to the pair who he thought were a couple, but he was left gobsmacked by their reaction.
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The woman suddenly moved to cover her face, as Byron dropped to the ground and disappeared from the frame.
"Oh, what? Either they're having an affair or they're just really shy," Martin said.
A red-faced woman also appeared in the footage, and many on the internet believed her to be Alyssa Stoddard, Cabot’s direct report at Astronomer.
Internet sleuths figured out Stoddard had worked for the HR head honcho for four different companies.
In a LinkedIn post announcing Stoddard's promotion to VP of People at Astronomer, Cabot said: "Alyssa is the kind of leader who earns trust fast, sees around corners, and builds People functions that don't just support a company's growth - they accelerate it.
"She's also a thoughtful, value-driven partner who makes every team she touches stronger."
However, an Astronomer spokesperson told News.com.au that she had been misidentified, saying: "Stoddard wasn’t at the concert, reaffirming that no other employees were featured with the pair on the jumbotron."
Byron has since resigned from his position at Astronomer, with the company putting out a statement on the matter over the weekend.
In the post on X, formerly Twitter, it said: "As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.
"Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted. The Board will begin a search for our next Chief Executive as Cofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy continues to serve as interim CEO.
"Before this week, we were known as a pioneer in the DataOps space, helping data teams power everything from modern analytics to production AI.
"While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not.
"We’re continuing to do what we do best: helping our customers with their toughest data and AI problems."
Astronomer confirmed co-founder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy has stepped into the role of interim CEO.
Callum Jones