Pete Dejoy, the interim CEO of Astronomer, did not bury his head on the scandal as he took charge of his new role and instead put out a statement on LinkedIn. Dejoy said the media attention to their startup because of the viral video has been unusual and surreal. Astronomer is now a household name, he said adding that he would never wish for it to happen like this. “At Astronomer we have never shied away from challenges; a near-decade of building this business has tested us time and time again, and each time we’ve emerged stronger. 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 that demanded we do it all without ever being in the same room,” he wrote. “The events of the past few days have received a level of media attention that few companies—let alone startups in our small corner of the data and AI world—ever encounter. The spotlight has been unusual and surreal for our team and, while I would never have wished for it to happen like this, Astronomer is now a household name,” his statement read. “I’m stepping into this role with a wholehearted commitment to taking care of our people and delivering for our customers. Astronomer’s foundation remains strong, built around the thriving Apache Airflow community. Our opportunity to build a DataOps platform for the age of AI remains massive. And our story is very much still being written,” Dejoy said.
Astronomer’s reputation takes a hit
After the video went viral, the work culture of Astronomer started being questioned as many people suggested that another person from the office, who was aware about the affair, was present. Though the company issued a statement denying the presence of any other person apart from the former CEO and the HR chief, many former employees spoke out anonymously about the toxic work culture of the startup.While Andy Byron resigned amid the controversy, Astronomer’s silence over Kristin Cabot, the HR head who was there with Andy, has been questioned. The company did not mention her in any of its statements so far.
