Cold Plays by CEOs: Kiss Cams, Karma and Getting Caught
Unless you’ve been in a coma for the last few days, you’ve come across the #Coldplay #Kisscam scandal heard (and seen) around the globe. A “private moment” at a very public venue that went incredibly viral. A textbook example of why you should never “$#!T where you eat.” 💼
Every way you look at this you lose 📉
Andy Byron is not the first married, cheating CEO and he certainly won’t be the last. But if you’re going to be a scumbag, at least be a little more strategic with your sidepieces, like the CEO of a company I used to work for, who I not so affectionately called F**khead.
At the time, FH was a relatively attractive forty-something with an amazing gift for gab when he was hired to run a new start-up. He was from out of state, so he left his wife and two middle-aged children behind to wrap things up at his old house while he stayed at a local downtown hotel during the week.
Company adjacent affairs 💋
Instead of tapping his coworkers, he would hook up with someone from one of his agencies. Shortly after he joined the start-up, he began funneling business to these contacts. I knew of at least two women who were part of his extracurricular activities. One of which socialized with his FH’s wife when they moved to a nearby upscale suburb. He was married to a lovely, intelligent woman whom he had met in business school and who he said was taking on a new role as the “Brand Manager” of their children.
Priya* was another one of his conquests. FH “asked” my boss, in a very detailed email, that she hire Priya as a consultant. The marketing budget was tight as it is, so she wasn’t keen on it, but as FH was her boss, she agreed, especially because it was a short-term gig.
Priya would come in, once a week. and would always schedule her meetings in the late afternoon. Although she lived less than an hour’s train ride from the office, we noticed that almost all of her invoices had unnecessary dinner charges and hotel stays. FH didn’t even try to hide this; the company was paying for his trysts. Priya would just send her invoices directly to FH to approve. Other times he would absorb the costs within his expense reports.
I want to see you be brave
One summer evening after a meeting with Priya, I decided to follow them. I watched FH and Priya pull out of his reserved spot. I stayed several car lengths behind his black BMW so that they wouldn’t see me and parked in the lot across from the restaurant. I ducked down and waited in my car. After they finished dinner, I wanted to see if his standby hotel was the next stop. I don’t know what possessed me to continue following them in my car into the hotel garage. Maybe it was Sara Bareilles coming through the radio.
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As I descended into the small parking garage, I could see him making out with Priya in his car. The lot was tight, and there weren’t any inconspicuous spots available. I backed into one spot and drove out before their tongues untangled. A couple of days later, my boss got another approved invoice from FH. Sadly, I didn’t have the best Smartphone technology, so the only decent images I captured were burned into my brain.
To tell or not to tell 🙊
I kept copies of those invoices after Priya’s stint ended with every intention of sending them to his wife. After much soul searching, I decided not to send the evidence because, as much as I hated him, it wasn’t my place and I didn’t want to hurt her. I had to hope he would one day he would be careless enough that karma would bite him in the ass.
From multi-million dollar home to condo 🏠
Eventually, I left the company. He never lost his job or became a meme, but I heard FH’s wife filed for divorce not long after. She was his first wife, whom he had known from the beginning when he wasn’t a CEO. According to his state’s judicial site, it looks like he paid dearly including legal fees, judging by the pages of entries throughout their 6-year court case.
I guess #AndyByron and #KristinCabot have that to look forward to.
Ironically, FH recently remarried. You think this woman might have done a bit more due diligence. Considering that present behavior is the best predictor of future behavior, we’ll see how long that union lasts. This time, he was probably smart enough to get a prenup.
*Names have been changed
#scandal #kisscam #coldplay #CEO #Affairs
