A recent Coldplay concert at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, inadvertently gave a big boost to Astronomer. This Cincinnati-based software development company is one of those companies now receiving the spotlight. In the second incident, Andy Byron, the chief executive officer and head of Astronomer, was partially to blame. Their new chief people officer, Kristin Cabot, only came on board in November 2024. The friendly but flirtatious exchange between the two artists during the shoot raised eyebrows and curiosity among concertgoers.
Andy Byron has been Astronomer’s CEO since 2023 and board member since 2019. Fuelled by his leadership, wisdom and a passion to help others, the company has prioritized innovation and growth within Vancouver’s vibrant software development community. He is recognized for promoting a culture of collaboration that fosters an exceptionally high level of productivity and engagement from his talented team. His unwavering devotion to cultivating talent shines through even when complimenting Cabot’s talents.
Kristin adds more than a decade of HR experience to the Astronomer team. She has an impressive track record of rapidly scaling high-performing people strategies. As the company plans to keep expanding at a rapid pace, she is clearly going to be an important part of that growth story. Byron is happy to let her grow beyond constituent services as a political leader. He continues, “Kristin’s leadership, vision and talent management, employee engagement and people strategy scalability acumen will be crucial to our rocket ship growth.”
Away from the concert stage, Byron and Cabot had a close connection. This had led to some tongue-in-cheek comments from Coldplay front man, Chris Martin. As he joked, “Either they’re having an affair or they’re very shy,” to underscore the absurdity of the situation. In a less diplomatic moment, as he recounted their behavior with righteous indignation, Martin expressed his outrage. “Holy shit!” he shouted, “I hope we didn’t just do something evil!”
Byron and Cabot intentionally maintain a working relationship. It’s a fascinating topic, but they focus on what they do at Astronomer and leave the fortune-telling to others. Cabot expressed enthusiasm about her position, saying, “I was energised in my conversations with Andy and the Astronomer leadership team about the opportunities that exist here.” Her enthusiasm, coupled with Byron’s own approach, suggests the two have a long-term vision for the company that goes beyond T.