We were hoping to avoid writing about the now-infamous “kiss cam” incident, but it grew too big and has too many crisis comms wrinkles to ignore. Astronomer, the company at the center of it all, was put in the position of having to deny that one employee was present at the event and that its now-ex CEO issued statements attributed to him.

On Wednesday, July 16, Astronomer then-CEO Andy Byron and head of HR Kristin Cabot attended a Coldplay concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Byron and Cabot are married to other people. Unfortunately, at one point during the concert a camera swept the audience looking for canoodling couples. The camera targeted Byron and Cabot, who were embracing. When they realized they were in the spotlight, they separated with shocked expressions and moved out of view.

To make matters worse, Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin said from the stage, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re very shy.” Naturally, the video went super viral, with lots of snarky comment.

The next day, a statement (or statements) circulated purporting to be by Byron in which he apologized to friends and colleagues. Rumors also circulated that another Astronomer HR employee was seen in the video.

Communications Channel

Astronomer, a privately held data-management company based in New York City and valued at over $1 billion, has been using LinkedIn as its main communications channel (alas, LinkedIn makes it hard to know when a post was posted). Its first statement appears to be from Friday. The company said it was investigating the matter.

It also denied the other rumors. “Alyssa Stoddard was not at the event and no other employees were in the video,” it wrote. “Andy Byron has not put out any statement, reports saying otherwise are all incorrect.”

In that same post, it invoked language typical in such a crisis. “Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding,” it wrote. “Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability.”

It next posted (apparently also Friday) that it had placed Byron on leave. Axios, citing unnamed sources, reported on Friday that Cabot was also put on leave.

Helping Customers

Astronomer then announced that Byron had tendered his resignation. The company clearly recognizes the reputational issues. “While awareness of our company may have changed overnight, our product and our work for our customers have not,” it wrote. “We’re continuing to do what we do best: helping our customers with their toughest data and AI problems.”

People have criticized Astronomer for not acting more quickly. Its first statement came out more than 24 hours after the story broke — it could have been quicker. But it was dealing with a lot of misinformation. It’s a good lesson in the chaos of a crisis and the need to get the facts straight. Axios reported that Byron’s “slow resignation” and negotiations over his exit package held up the announcement of his departure.

Astronomer is making efforts to reassure customers about its reputation. Interim CEO Pete DeJoy posted a statement on LinkedIn on Monday with lots of nods toward that end. He also acknowledged the strangeness of how the company has now become known worldwide. “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,” he wrote.

The way it became a household name is something the company will have to deal with for some time.

Image Credit: Astronomer

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