An HR crisis is taking the internet by storm and there could be ‘severe consequences for the company’s culture’
Good morning!
A warm embrace caught on camera between a CEO and his company’s chief people officer took the internet by storm yesterday.
Andy Byron, CEO of data analytics startup Astronomer, was featured on the jumbotron of a Coldplay concert snuggling up to his coworker, Kristin Cabot. The problem? Byron is married to someone else. As the “kiss cam” narrowed in, the two immediately split apart—Byron ducked down, and Cabot turned away.
“Oh, look at these two,” Coldplay frontman Chris Martin reportedly said to the crowd when the couple was featured on the big screen. “Either they’re having an affair or they’re just very shy.”
The footage of their embrace has since gone viral, racking up millions of views on social media platforms. It’s unclear what the nature of Byron and Cabot’s relationship is, but that didn’t stop social media members from speculating. Dozens of users also went on Byron’s LinkedIn page to criticize the executive. “Lights did not guide Andy home,” one user wrote, referencing the lyrics to a Coldplay song, Fortune previously reported.
Astronomer, Byron, and Cabot did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
While the details of the nature of the relationship between Byron and Cabot are still unclear, the incident is certainly a public relations nightmare for the company and its HR department. It also serves as a warning signal for other C-suite executives about the appearance of mixing personal and professional relationships. The lives of CEOs today are constantly being scrutinized by the public, and careless mistakes can be very costly.
“Trust has been broken, and employee morale will likely suffer. The company’s public reputation has been damaged, and clients and investors may begin to question the company’s stability,” says Jennifer Vickery, founder and CEO of National Strategies Public Relations. She added there will be “severe consequences for the company’s culture, reputation, and financial stability.”
From a legal standpoint, the company would be smart to immediately launch an investigation into the matter, which is best done by outside counsel or another professional, notes William E. Grob, partner at law firm Ogletree Deakins. To have it performed in-house could “carry an inherent pall of suspicion and mistrust.”
“HR is the trusted conduit between senior leadership and the rank and file,” he says. “If that trusted relationship is compromised by the appearance of favoritism toward one side or the other, the efficacy of the position is damaged and likely irretrievable.”
This is not the first time a top executive has come under scrutiny for a real or suspected personal relationship with a colleague. Retail giant Kohl’s fired CEO Ashley Buchanan in May after just 100 days on the job after an investigation found that he had violated company policies by directing the company to do business with a vendor he had a romantic relationship with.
Cabot was hired to lead HR at Astronomer in November, according to a company announcement, and was praised by Byron for her “exceptional leadership” and “deep expertise” in talent management, employee engagement, and scaling people operations. The company most recently secured a $93 million Series D round of funding led by Bain Capital Ventures and Salesforce Ventures. According to his LinkedIn page, Andy Byron has served as CEO since July 2023.
“There are plenty of companies out there where a leadership team doesn’t recognize the value that a strong people leader and people team can bring to a company,” Cabot said in a statement when she joined the company. “It’s not just about benefits or catered lunches. There’s so much more to it, and I was energized in my conversations with Andy and the Astronomer leadership team about the opportunities that exist here.”
Brit Morse
brit.morse@fortune.com
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com