Disney names Karandeep Anand as its first-ever Chief Technology Officer

The Walt Disney Company has appointed technology executive Karandeep Anand as its first company-wide Chief Technology Officer, creating a newly established senior leadership role as the entertainment giant places greater emphasis on technology, artificial intelligence and connected digital experiences. Anand will join Disney as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer effective October 2, 2026, and will report directly to Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro.

In his new role, Anand will oversee Disney’s enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product and engineering functions. He will work across the company’s various technology teams to modernise how Disney develops and delivers technology across its businesses. Several members of his former Character.AI technical team are also expected to join Disney.

The appointment comes as Disney seeks to strengthen technology as a company-wide capability and build more direct connections with consumers. Under D’Amaro, Disney has increasingly positioned Disney+ as a digital centrepiece for a more connected ecosystem spanning the company’s entertainment and other businesses. D’Amaro said Anand brings experience spanning infrastructure, consumer technology and AI, while describing him as both technically and product focused. Anand’s appointment gives Disney, for the first time, a single executive responsible for technology across the broader organisation rather than limiting the role to an individual business segment.

From Microsoft and Meta to Character.AI

Anand brings more than two decades of experience across major technology companies. He spent 15 years at Microsoft in senior product and engineering roles and was part of the team that helped build the Azure cloud platform. He later held several leadership positions at Meta, most recently serving as Vice President of Ads & Business Products at Facebook.

Before joining Disney, Anand served as CEO of Character.AI, the artificial intelligence company focused on conversational AI and virtual characters. Prior to that, he was President and Chief Product Officer at fintech company Brex. Disney highlighted his experience in building consumer technology at scale and his focus on trust and safety during his tenure at Character.AI.

The move is notable given Disney’s previous dealings with Character.AI. In 2025, Disney sent the AI company a cease-and-desist letter over the use of Disney characters on its platform, after which the characters were removed. Anand’s move from Character.AI to Disney therefore comes against the backdrop of the rapidly evolving relationship between entertainment companies and generative AI.

Technology at the Centre of Disney’s Next Phase

Anand’s appointment comes amid broader leadership changes at Disney as the company strengthens its technology and streaming capabilities. Just a day before announcing Anand, Disney appointed former YouTube executive Adam Smith as chairman of direct-to-consumer for Disney Entertainment, with responsibility for its global streaming business. For Anand, the new role brings together his experience in cloud infrastructure, consumer products, advertising technology and artificial intelligence under one of the world’s largest entertainment companies.

Anand, who holds a degree in Computer Science from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, said he has admired Disney for its ability to combine storytelling with technology and expressed his intention to help the company connect audiences with its stories and characters in new ways. With Disney increasingly integrating technology, data and AI across its operations, Anand’s appointment marks a significant addition to the company’s leadership structure and its efforts to build a more connected technology ecosystem across Disney.