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

[CEOhno]

I just... don't get it. I'm not condoning affairs but people do it all the time. I don't understand why they had to resign. Their personal lives deserve to blow up, of course, but it's a bit puritanical and false to pretend that, as a society, we care this much.

It doesn't affect their ability to do their jobs, if the cameras hadn't caught them there wouldn't have been nearly as much fuss. I hate the social media panic and showmanship.

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)

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 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.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

To add: it's not about morality. It's about money.

Trump is of course an utter sleaze, but if it came out that, say, he was shagging his Secretary of Defense, people would quite rightly have very serious concerns. Even Republicans.

No none of those things apply to me but if they did my comment still stands. The worldwide shame and humiliation this has brought not just to me but to my loved ones would make me want to die. You may not feel the same as me but I’m expressing how I would feel about it.

I think you will find that pedophiles in America are very much getting jail time. The justice system in the US is nothing like ours.

What settlement agreement are you talking about?

I agree. Another poster said its use was announced in advance, so I suppose at least there was warning. But I still think it's an invasion of privacy and could make someone (perhaps with body image issues, autistic or with a disability) very upset. It's a cheap laugh at someone's expense. Is this a thing at concerts these days or was it because it was a private event?

It's a standard, well-known part of every Coldplay gig.

Is it true this was a company event? The company stated that no other employees were on camera.

Aye but what’s it got to do with you? It’s weird the level of opinion people have. Nail em to the cross 🙄

A CEO of a company is meant to display honesty and integrity. Investors and customers want to deal with people amd companies who are trustworthy. Employees cannot be expected to work for someone who themselves is openly dishonest. Covering up a work affair creates a toxic work environment as it drags coworkers into being liars too. Someone who cannot be trustworthy to their own wife cannot display these characteristics.

It creates all sorts of conflicts of interests when CEO and head of HR are having an affair that impacts on other employees. People will not be easilt able to raise whilstleblowing or harassment cases. Companies have to abide by codes of conduct across all industries now.

Their positions at the company are untenable for this reason regardless of how uncomfortable it makes many feel given it is private life on the surface. Deeper it is to do with personal traits and work dynamics

Maybe his wife issued an ultimatum, maybe it's to protect the company, or he wants to make it up with his wife and put distance between himself and this other woman, who knows.
I hope his wife takes him to the cleaners.

OK thanks. Obviously I've never been to a Coldplay gig!

This.

I can’t abide cheaters, it’s so bloody disrespectful to the families involved. They got what they deserved afraid.

I’ve only seen kiss cam at North American sports events. The chosen people often look happy to be chosen unless you’re sat with your sibling