Astronomer’s interim CEO addressed the controversy surrounding the company when the former CEO was caught cuddling with the company’s head of HR at a Coldplay concert last week.
“The events of the past few days have received a level of media attention that few companies—let alone startups in our small corner of the data and AI world—ever encounter,” Pete DeJoy wrote Monday on LinkedIn. “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.”
DeJoy, who is also the co-founder of the data company, in his statement wrote how he has poured his “entire professional life” into building Astronomer, and over the last few years the company has seen “incredible growth.”
“At Astronomer we have never shied away from challenges; a near-decade of building this business has tested us time and time again, and each time we’ve emerged stronger,” DeJoy wrote. “From starting a software company in Cincinnati, Ohio, to keeping the lights on through the collapse of the bank that held all our cash, to scaling from 30 to 300 people during a global pandemic that demanded we do it all without ever being in the same room.”
“And yet, we’re still here.”
Last week, the company went viral after then-CEO Andy Byron and the head of his HR department were caught holding each other on the jumbotron during a Coldplay concert in Massachusetts. Once the two realized they were on the big screen, they ducked and covered their faces, leaving some, including Coldplay’s front man, Chris Martin, to joke that they were having an affair.
A few days after the concert, Byron stepped down with the company noting that it’s “committed to the values and culture that have” guided them since their founding.
“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met,” the statement read.