Pete DeJoy, co-founder of the data tech company Astronomer, has officially spoken out after being appointed as interim CEO following a public controversy involving former chief Andy Byron and the company's HR head, Kristin Cabot.
The incident, which drew national attention, unfolded during a Coldplay concert in Boston. A video of Byron and Cabot sharing an intimate moment quickly went viral, raising concerns about workplace ethics and prompting intense media coverage. Shortly after the video surfaced, Byron resigned from his position.
Following Byron’s exit, the board of directors swiftly named DeJoy as the interim chief executive while they search for a long-term replacement. Addressing the recent events in a LinkedIn post, DeJoy admitted that the media attention surrounding the scandal was “unusual and surreal.” However, he expressed his determination to guide the company forward.
In a heartfelt public message, DeJoy reflected on his journey with Astronomer and the startup’s evolution: “Over the weekend, I stepped into the role of Interim CEO at Astronomer, a company that I’ve proudly poured my entire professional life into helping build,” he wrote.
DeJoy highlighted Astronomer’s growth over the years—from a small company assisting businesses with Apache Airflow to a major player in data and AI infrastructure. Today, the platform supports a wide range of uses, including analytics for sports, customer service chatbots, and training data for self-driving vehicles.
He acknowledged the company’s resilience through various crises, including surviving a bank collapse and scaling its team during the COVID-19 pandemic: “From starting a software company in Cincinnati, Ohio, to keeping the lights on through the collapse of the bank that held all our cash, to scaling from 30 to 300 people during a global pandemic… and yet, we’re still here,” he said.
DeJoy emphasized that Astronomer has always been built on grit and integrity. He credited the team’s hard work and the customers’ trust for keeping the company strong: “We’re here because Astronomer is built by people who live to solve hard problems, stay late to fix what’s broken, and care deeply about doing things the right way,” he said.
Despite the recent drama, DeJoy sees this moment as an opportunity to reinforce Astronomer’s values and continue building: “The mission is bigger than any one moment,” he said, adding that he’s committed to “taking care of our people and delivering for our customers.”
He reaffirmed the company’s strong position in the Apache Airflow ecosystem and expressed optimism about its future role in the AI-driven data operations space: “Our opportunity to build a DataOps platform for the age of AI remains massive. And our story is very much still being written.”
