Pete DeJoy, the individual appointed to temporarily handle the responsibilities of Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, displayed a subtle yet noteworthy reaction when a former employee confessed to having laughed at Byron’s expense following his controversy.
DeJoy showed approval by “liking” a LinkedIn post from Zachary Hensley, who served as the vice president of technology and operations at Astronomer between 2019 and 2024. In Hensley’s post, he acknowledged, “Yes, I’ve laughed at the memes.”
Despite this admission, the ex-employee expressed mixed feelings about the situation, noting, “But I also understand that Astronomer represents more than a single incident or individual. It’s composed of a team of smart, kind, and motivated people achieving remarkable things. I’ll always be cheering them on.”
Hensley noted in his post that despite seeing all of the memes and having shared “more than a few,” he “felt a strange mix of pride, nostalgia, and whiplash” before gushing about his time at the tech company.
He concluded his lengthy post by writing, “To the Astronomer crewâpast and presentâI love yâall. Keep going. Keep building. Youâve got this.”
DeJoy’s reaction to the post appears to signify that much of what Hensley said resonated with him.
The former colleagues seem to share a close bond. Hensley wrote via LinkedIn Friday in response to the news that DeJoy had been named Astronomer’s interim CEO, “Pete DeJoy is amazing. Iâm so excited for him. Love you Petey.”
Per his LinkedIn, DeJoy has worked at Astronomer for eight years, with his most recent role being chief product officer. He has also worked there as a vice president of product and is a co-founder.
A rep for Astronomer confirmed to Page Six via email late Friday night, âCofounder and Chief Product Officer Pete DeJoy is currently serving as interim CEO given Andy Byron has been placed on leave. We will share more details as appropriate in the coming days.”
Byron and Astronomer’s Chief People Officer Kristin Cabot were temporarily suspended from the company after they went viral for canoodling at a Coldplay concert earlier this week.
The two co-workers were caught on a jumbotron camera at a Boston-area show Wednesday cozily hugging each other, but when they realized they were on the screen, they immediately hid in shame.
It was then revealed after Byron is married to a woman named Megan Kerrigan Byron, who has since removed his last name from her Facebook and deactivated her social media accounts.
Cabot divorced her first husband, Kenneth Thornby, in 2022, per Massachusetts court records obtained by The Post. However, it appears she may now be married to Privateer Rum’s CEO Andrew Cabot, since they share the same last name and are co-owners of the same house in New Hampshire.
Neither Byron nor Kristin have commented on the affair allegations, but Astronomer released an official statement on Friday, revealing the company had launched a formal investigation into the matter.
âAstronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding. Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability,â the statement read.
âThe Board of Directors has initiated a formal investigation into this matter and we will have additional details to share very shortly.â
It continued, âAlyssa Stoddard was not at the event and no other employees were in the video. Andy Byron has not put out any statement, reports saying otherwise are all incorrect.â
Stoddard is an Astronomer employee who works under Kristin. Many people online speculated that she was the brunette woman beside the HR exec in the now-viral kiss cam video.
However, a rep for Astronomer reiterated exclusively to Page Six Friday, âAlyssa was not there. This is a rumor started on Twitter.
“There may be some similarities in the countenance of the person, but itâs not [Stoddard]. Â So [the rumor] is totally false based on misinformation.â
