After spending the previous week-plus within the headlines because of a seemingly inescapable social media scandal, knowledge operations startup Astronomer is making an attempt to shift the narrative with a tongue-in-cheek video starring actress and entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow.
Paltrow was, in fact, beforehand married to Coldplay singer Chris Martin. And it was at a Coldplay live performance in Massachusetts that the corporate’s CEO Andy Byron and Chief Folks Officer Kristin Cabot have been apparently caught dancing collectively on the “kiss cam.”
When Byron and Cabot (who’re reportedly married to different folks) awkwardly tried to cover from the digicam, Martin joked, “Both they’re having an affair or they’re simply very shy.”
Footage of the change exploded in reputation, in the end main each executives to resign from Astronomer. In saying Byron’s resignation, the corporate mentioned, “Our leaders are anticipated to set the usual in each conduct and accountability, and not too long ago, that commonplace was not met.”
Astronomer’s assertion additionally nodded at the truth that the corporate had instantly grow to be well-known for causes having nothing to do with its product: “Whereas consciousness of our firm could have modified in a single day, our product and our work for our clients haven’t.”
Its new advertising video has an identical message, making an attempt to refocus the dialog on Astronomer’s expertise, whereas winkingly acknowledging why that is perhaps a problem.
Paltrow kicks issues off by introducing herself as somebody who’s been “employed on a really short-term foundation to talk on behalf of the 300-plus employers at Astronomer.” She then guarantees to reply the “commonest” questions requested in regards to the firm — however when the briefly glimpsed, half-typed questions are all about you-know-what, Paltrow stays cheerfully, and resolutely, on-message.
Techcrunch occasion
San Francisco
|
October 27-29, 2025
“We’ve been thrilled so many individuals have a newfound curiosity in knowledge workflow automation,” she says. Paltrow even finds time to plug the corporate’s upcoming convention earlier than concluding, “We’ll now be returning to what we do finest — delivering game-changing outcomes for our clients.”