In a puzzling twist, Astronomer, the tech firm behind the Astro data platform, appears to have quietly removed a LinkedIn post announcing the 2024 hiring of Kristin Cabot as its Chief People Officer.
The move comes days after Cabot was seen attending a Coldplay concert with company CEO Andy Byron.
The original announcement, titled “An Exciting Day Today,” had highlighted Cabot’s arrival at the company last November. That post has now vanished, replaced by a message that reads: “This post cannot be displayed.”
No formal explanation has been issued. No timestamp on when the deletion occurred. But the timing is raising eyebrows.
Speculation escalated after a clip surfaced online showing Byron and Cabot at Coldplay’s live show in Foxboro, Massachusetts, on Wednesday, 16 July.
During the mid-show Kiss Cam segment, frontman Chris Martin introduced the light-hearted moment as cameras scanned the crowd. They landed on Byron, arms wrapped around Cabot.
Caught off guard, Byron dropped to the floor, and Cabot covered her face. It didn’t go unnoticed. “Oh, either they’re having an affair or they’re very shy,” Martin joked from the stage, according to audience-shared footage.
Since then, social media has been buzzing. Neither Byron nor Cabot has responded publicly to the viral moment. The astronomer has also remained silent.
A deeper look into that now-famous Kiss Cam encounter — including public reactions and viral footage — has been covered in our breakdown of the moment that lit up social media: Kristin Cabot and CEO’s Kiss Cam moment sparks buzz.
According to Newsweek, Byron is married to a woman named Megan Kerrigan Byron. With no public clarification offered, rumours have continued to swirl.
Astronomer, which has seen rapid growth under Byron’s leadership since his appointment in 2023, has not commented on either the hiring post’s removal or the personal lives of its executives.
Cabot, who served as Chief People Officer at Neo4j for four years prior, joined Astronomer in late 2024. “I prefer to think of my role as people strategy versus traditional human resources…
It’s not just about benefits or catered lunches,” Cabot had said in the original press release. “I was energized in my conversations with Andy and the Astronomer leadership team about the opportunities that exist here.”
Byron had echoed that sentiment at the time: “Kristin’s exceptional leadership and deep expertise… will be critical as we continue our rapid trajectory,” he said. “Her passion for fostering diverse, collaborative workplaces makes her a perfect fit for Astronomer.”
Yet now, it seems the company is distancing itself from that public celebration.
No further statements have been made by the company, Cabot, or Byron. The deletion of the LinkedIn post has only fuelled online chatter about whether the Coldplay concert moment had anything to do with it.
One thing is certain—tech firms live under the microscope, and in the age of viral footage, even a night out at a concert can create waves in the boardroom.
Whether this story fades quietly or not may depend on who speaks up first.
