Nestle CEO Laurent Freixe, Astronomer CEO Andy Byron to Kohl's CEO Ashley Buchanan, all lost jobs due to workplace affairs

Nestle CEO Laurent Freixe, Astronomer CEO Andy Byron, and Kohl CEO Ashley Buchanan have lost their high-salaried prestigious executive jobs due to workplace romantic affairs. Romantic relationships are not sin but an affair with a colleague or a subordinate often raises question on office code and ethics. The year of 2025 has already witnessed three of much talked about office affairs that went wrong eventually costing jobs.

Nestle CEO

Nestle dismissed its CEO Laurent Freixe a year after appointing him, following an investigation into an undisclosed romantic relationship with a direct subordinate that breached the company's code of conduct.


Coldplay Kiss Cam Scandal

Technology firm Astronomer Inc. CEO Andy Byron had to resign after being caught canoodling on camera with company's chief people officer Kristin Cabot at the Coldplay concert in Massachusetts in an awkward clip that quickly went viral.

Once Byron and Cabot realized they were being shown on a jumbo screen inside Gillette Stadium as they embraced, Byron ducked out of sight and Cabot covered her face with her hands and spun around.

Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin responded by saying "either they're having an affair or they're just very shy."

The company in a statement on its LinkedIn profile stated that its leaders "are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met."

Kohl's CEO Sacked

Earlier this year, Kohl's said on it had fired CEO Ashley Buchanan after an investigation found he had pushed for deals with a vendor with whom he had a personal relationship, after little more than 100 days in the CEO job.

Buchanan engaged in transactions with this person's company on "highly unusual terms", Kohl's said in a filing, and also caused the company to agree to a multi-million-dollar consulting agreement with a team that included this person he was involved with. He also did not disclose the relationship, the company said.

The reshuffle in the top position comes amid a string of similar announcements from consumer-facing companies globally. In the United States, companies are removing their CEOs at the fastest pace in two decades, with data showing that at least 41 CEOs have exited S&P 500 companies so far this year, compared with 49 for all of 2024.

FAQs

Q1. How many CEOs have exited companies in 2025?
A1. In the United States, companies are removing their CEOs at the fastest pace in two decades, with data showing that at least 41 CEOs have exited S&P 500 companies so far this year, compared with 49 for all of 2024.

Q2. Who was Astronomer CEO?
A2. Technology firm Astronomer Inc. CEO is Andy Byron.