Andrew Michael “Andy” Byron was born on September 14, 1974, in Hanover, Massachusetts, later moving to Duxbury. He attended Trinity–Pawling School and then earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Providence College in 1997, where he also played baseball as a pitcher.
Byron began his tech career with leadership roles at several firms. From 2015–2017, he served as COO and later President at Fuze (formerly ThinkingPhones). He then became Chief Revenue Officer at cybersecurity firm Cybereason (2017–2019) and took on an executive position at cloud security company Lacework.
Leadership at Astronomer
In July 2023, Byron became CEO of Astronomer, a New York–based data analytics firm specializing in DataOps and Apache Airflow deployments. During his tenure, the company raised a $93 million Series D in May 2025, pushing its valuation to around $1.3 billion. Under his leadership, Astronomer also expanded globally, opening a new office in London.
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The Coldplay “Kiss-Cam” Controversy
In July 2025, what Byron himself called a “very awkward moment” occurred during a Coldplay concert at Gillette Stadium. Captured on the stadium’s kiss-cam, Byron was seen embracing Astronomer’s Chief People Officer, Kristin Cabot—who was also married. The clip quickly went viral, with frontman Chris Martin joking:
“Either they’re having an affair or they’re very shy.”
This sparked a swift response: Astronomer’s board placed both Byron and Cabot on administrative leave while launching a formal investigation.
Resignation and Fallout
On July 19, 2025, Andy Byron resigned as CEO—an announcement accepted by the board, which immediately began the search for his successor. Pete DeJoy, Astronomer’s co-founder and Chief Product Officer, was appointed interim CEO.
Legacy in DataOps
Despite his abrupt exit, Byron’s impact at Astronomer remains notable. Under his leadership, the company cemented its reputation as a leading DataOps platform, supporting enterprise AI and data pipelines with a focus on high uptime and ease-of-use.
