The chief executive of a US tech company has resigned after being caught on a big screen at a Coldplay concert embracing a woman believed to be his firm’s HR director.

The pair were captured by a kiss cam - where couples are put up on the big screen and encouraged to smooch - at a Boston concert this week. The footage went viral on social media and the pair were quickly identified in as Andy Byron, a married chief executive of Astronomer, and Kristin Cabot, the company’s HR boss.

Astronomer said in a statement this morning: “Andy Byron has tendered his resignation, and the Board of Directors has accepted.”

“As stated previously, Astronomer is committed to the values and culture that have guided us since our founding.

“Our leaders are expected to set the standard in both conduct and accountability, and recently, that standard was not met.”

The viral video

It’s believed what caused the video to go viral was the pair’s own reaction upon finding themselves on the kiss cam: both Byron and Cabot immediately trying to hide.

The crowd can be heard laughing as Chris Martin, the singer of Coldplay, says: “Oh, look at these two ... Either they’re having an affair or they’re very shy.”

Byron’s wife, Megan Kerrigan Byron, was initially reported to have removed his last name from her social media profiles, reverting to her maiden name of Megan Kerrigan.

Social media users overwhelmingly approved the subtle move and encouraged the wife to “laugh all the way to the bank” after the incident.

She appears to have since wiped her social media presence altogether, including removing her Facebook and Instagram accounts.

“What a class act! Go Megan. Get that divorce lawyer and get the money,” someone commented on social media.

“Get that check, girl,” another social media user said.

Kerrigan’s Facebook account was open to public comments before being deleted and many social media users took the chance to post their support for the woman.

“Sorry you’re going through this,” said one comment, which was echoed by many similar ones.

‘If you’re going to cheat, learn some chill’

As the video continued to spread on social media, internet users pointed out the reason it is getting so much attention is because the two protagonists tried to hide it.

The result is a variation of the Barbra Streisand effect, a phenomenon where an attempt to hide or remove online information about an incident ends up increasing public awareness of that incident.

Viral moment leads to memes

Internet users did not miss the opportunity to make jokes after the viral incident, which quickly became fertile ground for memes.