Kristin Cabot, the former Chief People Officer (CPO) at Astronomer, has recently been the subject of media attention following an incident involving Astronomer's CEO, Andy Byron. While the circumstances surrounding her departure have been widely discussed, less has been reported about her compensation during her tenure at the data software company.

Cabot joined Astronomer in November 2024, bringing with her a wealth of experience in human resources and a reputation for scaling company culture during periods of rapid growth. Prior to her role at Astronomer, she held key HR positions at tech firms such as Neo4j, Proofpoint, and ObserveIT. At Neo4j, she helped the company grow from 225 to 900 employees. Her LinkedIn profile described her as a "passionate People leader" known for "building award-winning cultures from the ground up". During her time at Astronomer, Cabot aimed to build trust with employees at all levels and viewed HR as a strategic business partner.

Given her seniority as the Chief People Officer, her extensive experience of over 20 years, and the typical compensation packages for C-suite executives in Silicon Valley, it is estimated that Kristin Cabot earned a six-figure annual salary at Astronomer. The exact figure remains undisclosed, but reports suggest that HR heads at her level typically earn between $250,000 and $330,000 per year, depending on the size of the company. In addition to her base salary, Cabot likely received perks such as bonuses, stock options, and possibly even equity in the company.

Astronomer is a data orchestration company valued at over $1.3 billion. In February 2024, Astronomer announced a 292% year-over-year growth in revenue for its Astro platform. In May 2025, the company secured $93 million in Series D funding. The company's platform, powered by Apache Airflow, empowers organizations to deliver data on time and at scale. Notable clients include Condé Nast, Electronic Arts, Autodesk, and FanDuel.

Before recent events, Cabot's role at Astronomer focused on modernizing internal culture and compliance standards to match the company's rapid growth and evolving employee expectations. When she was hired, CEO Andy Byron praised Cabot's "exceptional leadership and deep expertise in talent management, employee engagement, and scaling people strategies," noting that these qualities would be critical to Astronomer's continued growth. He added that her passion for fostering diverse, collaborative workplaces made her a perfect fit for the company.

Following the "kiss cam" incident at a Coldplay concert, Andy Byron resigned from his position as CEO. Pete DeJoy, co-founder and Chief Product Officer, has taken over as interim CEO. The company has begun searching for a new CEO.

The recent events have put Astronomer in the spotlight, but the company is focused on continuing to provide its customers with solutions for their data and AI challenges.