The former HR executive, Kristin Cabot, formerly Kristi Stanek, the disgruntled ex-employee who went viral recently, is back in the headlines. Not only for her participation in a viral scandal, but also for her party-girl college life as a Delta Gamma sorority sister. Yearbook pictures indicate that she proudly sported the sorority’s iconic pearls and party attitude at Gettysburg College in the mid-90s. One classmate described her as polished and social, but no one expected she’d later be at the center of a corporate firestorm.
The Coldplay Kiss-Cam That Changed Everything
On July 16, at Coldplay’s show in Gillette Stadium, a kiss-cam moment took an unexpected turn by showing Astronomer CEO Andy Byron and Cabot in what appeared to be a romantic encounter. When the jumbotron zoomed in on them, Chris Martin made a joke, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re very shy,” making the situation all the more awkward. The two were visibly spooked. Cabot hid her face. Byron ducked below the frame.
The video went viral within hours. The audience quickly recognized the couple, noting that both are either divorced or married. Astronomer promptly opened up an internal probe and suspended both on leave.
Resignations, Company Fallout, and Media Backlash: Andy Byron stepped down on July 19, and Cabot quickly did as well. Their LinkedIn pages were quietly deleted, and their recruitment postings were removed. A spokesperson at the company confirmed, “Kristin Cabot is no longer with Astronomer. She has resigned.”
The board appointed co-founder Pete DeJoy as interim CEO as it started looking for a new executive. Public comments asserted that leadership conduct standards had been breached.
Personal Lives Under a Microscope
The effects weren’t confined to the office. Byron’s wife, Megan Kerrigan, took his last name off of social media and moved to a $2.4M estate in Maine. She would not speak publicly. Cabot, married to Privateer Rum CEO Andrew Cabot, according to reports, was later spotted at their New Hampshire compound. She wasn’t sporting her wedding band, but still wore the same layered necklaces from the show.
A Surprising Brand Twist: Gwyneth Paltrow as Spokesperson: In a strange turn of events, Astronomer issued a tongue-in-cheek video starring Gwyneth Paltrow as a “temporary spokesperson.” Paltrow, wife of former Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, spoke with a hint of dry wit regarding the scandal while touting Astronomer’s artificial intelligence and machine learning features. Her cameo entertained some, while also casting renewed light upon the company’s true efforts.
What It Means: Reputation, Relationships, and Culture
This scandal illustrates how one stadium screen moment can bring down careers and turn public narratives on their head overnight. Concerns regarding leadership conduct and corporate culture pushed Astronomer into the limelight. In spite of the theatrics, some insiders mocked Byron’s fall, referring to it as karma for a poisonous reputation.
The Delta Gamma Tie-In
Cabot’s Delta Gamma history, once a sorority of social poise, battles with the discreet damage control that is currently playing out. Those earlier images of glamour and pearls juxtapose vividly with the attention she is now under. And that contrast only adds to her enigma of being at the center of one of the year’s largest corporate scandals.
