How to turn a corporate scandal into an opportunity

Astronomer's comeback after the inglorious exit of its former CEO Andy Byron is a case study for crisis management

- Somak Ghoshal

Calamity strikes businesses in all shapes and forms, but the recent incident involving US-based data operations company Astronomer's ex-CEO Andy Byron and ex-chief people officer Kristin Cabot deserves to be taught as a case study in workplace crisis management at B-Schools around the world.

On 18 July, Byron and Cabot, both married to other people, were caught in an intimate embrace on a jumbotron at a concert by the popular British band, Coldplay. The "mishap", which has by now gone down in the history of scandals as "Coldplaygate", caused an upheaval all over the internet. In no time, the couple was caught in the eye of a social media blitzkrieg, spawning much mirth, mockery and memes. Byron resigned in a few hours, Cabot followed suit days later. Last heard, Byron is considering suing Chris Martin, the lead vocalist of the band, for the viral "kiss cam scandal".

In the meantime, Astronomer installed one of its co-founders Pete DeJoy as interim CEO, who quickly went into damage control mode by making the right noises. In his first post on LinkedIn since the incident, he praised the integrity and professionalism of his employees in the face of all the attention Astronomer has recently received.