To think the CEO caught at Coldplay resigning is a bit of a performance

Add Coldplay to the danger list for CEOs after Luigi Mangione and Titanic submarine tours.

The company don't give a shit if there's an affair or not. They give a shit because of an undeclared conflict of interest which can materially and hugely affect their business. Whether you were already married when you started screwing your direct report is between you, them, and your spouse, in their book.

I suppose that one of them should have just found another job straight away to continue their affair without any repercussions or comprises within the company rules, once they started seeing each other.
I know that sounds the logical thing to do, but they didn’t ever think they would be caught out and arrogant enough to carry on with it all.

You're thinking about this from the perspective of outside the company (customers, reputation etc.) rather than the inside. An environment where the CEO is having an affair with the Head of HR becomes untenable from an employment perspective. Imagine if there was a sexual harassment claim against the CEO - they can hardly complain when everyone knows he's sleeping with the Head of HR? That's a massive lawsuit for the company, and other board members can't turn a blind eye to that now.

It's not just the affair, it's why the entire incident indicates.

The role of CEO is to maximise shareholders value while running a company within a legal & regularly requirements.

This incident demonstrates:

He doesn't make wise choices
He doesn't think company rules apply to him
He lacks moral creditibility
He is also very stupid - his one the spot thinking is beyond stupid - if they had styled it out it would have received far less attention.

I don't want a reckless, slow thinking idiot in charge of my financial returns. He's not the person for it due to his character. It's that simple.

The role of HR is to protect the company (especially from situations like this).

By being involved in one of the biggest HR issues that company has seen and within just 7 months of working there also indicate that the Head of HR isn't up to her role either - believes compsny policies don't apply to her, doesn't respect or believe in professional boundaries and either doesn't understand or disregards behaviour that may have an impact on decision making, influence etc.

Neither of this people are the correct person for their respective roles. While an affair demonstrates questionable judgment, the fact that neither of them cared about being caught, zero discretion shown etc - shows their stupidity and confirms they are completely unsuitable to the role.

If the company don't want or need him, it's a great way to get ride of him. If he has a value that can't be replaced, I have no doubt he will be back working for them "indirectly" in a consultancy capacity via ab "one paper" third party.

She won't be back at all. Her position is untenable but she will fight it every step of the way and will be wanting a settlement and will get one too with a NDA.

Well it's a huge conflict of interest for both of them, isn't it? Employers aren't known for liking relationships going on under their roof, even when it involves two previously unattached people. It brings potential conflict into the workplace when they work closely together. Imagine someone trying to whistleblow the CEO for sexual harassment. He's dating the HR Director! Or a member of staff complains about her bullying them and the only person more senior to complain to is the CEO. This was a very public display of unethical, immoral behaviour that has gone viral under the employer's. Of course the employer is going to seek to distance themselves from it all. All very undignified and likely not at all in keeping with company values (I don't know what they are but many are along the lines of integrity, trustworthiness etc). The company has a brand image to maintain, and things like this can destroy incoming business.

As for the two involved, I couldn't be happier that they've been found out. However, I really feel for their families who must be feeling absolutely humiliated. So publicly, too.

There's probably a work policy about relationships between workers and he is in breach of this by not declaring they were involved, hence having to resign.

Relationships like this are a legal minefield - they can lead to conflicts of interest (for instance, if the CEO is asked to downsize a department and so lets other people go to avoid sacking his partner) and court cases such as this: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/stanislav-stepchuk-merrill-lynch-court-b2785510.html

I think the sort of person who cheats will cheat anywhere, personal life or professional.

Their (public) affair created a conflict of interest, was evidence of a lack of integrity and judgment.

They had to go. Senior staff on senior salaries should publicly uphold the values of the company. This is what the big salaries are about, you are an avatar of the company ethos.

I work for the civil service. If I did anything that could be deemed to bring them in to disrepute, and the whole world saw it, I'd be sacked in the blink of an eye.

Anyone with an iota of common sense knows that your personal life can affect your job. I've seen a friend forced to resign as their adult child committed a high profile crime. She'd done nothing wrong. That's how it is.

He resigned. He made that choice. Maybe he felt it was his only choice but maybe he should have been a bit more careful! They were told the camera was going on. Could they not have untangled themselves for 5 minutes?!

I have no sympathy for the pair of them. This will be old news soon enough. I feel sorry for their families but those two brought this on themselves.

Two powerful, highly paid people working in big tech who apparently don’t know how cameras at pop concerts and social media operate until it’s too late - for that level of crass stupidity, he had to resign. Their judgement was clearly severely impaired to be having such a public “secret” affair. I wouldn’t trust anything the pair of them said in or out of a business context while so inappropriately infatuated with each other.

I feel sorry for the children too especially if they are old enough to know what is going on.
Same as with Matt Hancock and that photo of him splashed around , his children must have been mortified to see their dad like that and the subsequent news around it all. Some people could possibly shake it off , but it still can’t be easy for the families involved and the fall out being shown as memes too. At least years ago it was just a tabloid photo in the red tops mostly , now it’s everywhere. ( Not condoning cheating , but just sympathetic for the families)

I agree, it doesn't sit comfortably with me either.

I'd imagine this level of exposure is not exactly helping their innocent kids in all of this.

Honestly, he who casts the first stone..

Integrity / reputational harm. They should both go. They will probably have been paid off on the proviso they can’t sue.

I think what sits most uncomfortably with me is the fact that their lives have been ripped apart over this - so much more than an affair 'usually' does. It's on an international, unlimited and unrestrained way - that seems wildly and atrociously unfair. But then, I have a problem with that in general - the internet's ability to destroy people's lives without blinking.

I agree, OP. I mean, I can see why he had to resign, given the amount of publicity, and, as PP have said, it’s also refreshing (in a way) for it to be the man who has to go, for once — but there’s a glee to it all that I find a bit distasteful, and a tendency, I think, for commentators to forget these are real people. A lot of us make mistakes (not necessarily cheating, of course) and get away with it without our whole worlds blowing up. I’m not explaining this very well, I know, but there’s something about a viral pile on that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, whatever their crime…

Have you read Jon Robson’s book, SO YOU’VE BEEN PUBLICLY SHAMED? It’s quite old now, but deals with this exact theme — and how when it’s SO public, it’s very different to when it happens on a local scale.

@OriginalHulaHoops - I bet they feel as if they’ve been doused in coldplay water by now.
I’m intrigued wondering whether, if it is true that he and his wife have been living separately for a while and that she has been divorced since 2022, with no mention of a new relationship, the reason they acted like deer in the headlights was because their relationship was against the company rules and they knew they were doing wrong solely in those terms, if you see what I mean?
As has already been mentioned, it still makes me wonder how Trump was ever elected, given all his admitted affairs.

You think Chief HR officer to CEO is the same as patient to doctor? He clearly resigned due to unethical behaviour and bringing the company into disrepute, not because having an affair with one of the most senior people in the business is an abuse of power. The situation could not be more different from a doctor sleeping with one of her patients.

It is not just the affair, it is the fact that she works for him.

He will be giving input (at least) on her annual compensation and she will be privy to things about other employees that she shouldn’t be.

In addition, were they to spilt up, she could blackmail him (or potentially vice versa).

They are both senior and should know better. They are not two graduates getting together.

Never heard of KissCam until now. Foolish people. I’m sure the ‘desire’ for each other has disappeared now.

It isn't a "kiss cam". It is the Jumbotron part of the gig; Chris Martin sings a song about 3 or 4 audience members. It is usually sweet and funny. It frequently makes it onto Twitter/Instagram, alongside other audience participation videos like Songbook (where the band sing a fan-chosen song with one or more fans.

For those saying "why would you film strangers?", you have no idea who will feature. Last year, I was recording the previous part of the show when Jumbotron started and my friend popped up on the screen without warning. She was very grateful I got the footage of a fun moment for her.

There are signs everywhere warning you might be on screen/recorded.

I agree with Oudle , although I guess that the CEO didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter. If it hadn’t been a work colleague I do wonder of the outcome would have been the same , it might be simply because they worked together that he had to go.
I also imagine that a lot of people were aware of the affair and stayed out of it too, but that’s only speculation on my part.

24 hour news has to be filled with something. There are only so many ways to report on Israel bombing Palestine, Russia bombing Ukraine and Trump being a wanker.

The whole story is insane.

Plenty of pedophiles are not getting jail time now. Where is the social media shame campaign for them?

@Gunnersforthecup often not with each other though.