Disney names Karandeep Anand as first-ever CTO

Disney names Karandeep Anand as first-ever CTO

Fri, September 18, 2026 at 8:31 PM GMT+3 2 min read

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The Walt Disney Company named Karandeep Anand as its first-ever chief technology officer on Friday, filling a newly created senior executive vice president role that will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Josh D'Amaro. Anand, who most recently served as CEO of Character.AI, is set to start Oct. 2, the company said.

In his new role, Anand will be responsible for enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product, and engineering, coordinating with technology teams across Disney's various segments. A number of Character.AI's technical staff members are also anticipated to make the move to Disney with him.

Anand's background spans consumer technology, infrastructure, and AI. Before leading Character.AI, he was president and chief product officer at Brex, a financial technology firm. His resume also includes multiple senior positions at Meta's Facebook, with his most recent being vice president of ads and business products, along with a 15-year tenure at Microsoft during which he contributed to building the Azure cloud-computing platform.

"Karandeep brings a rare mix of experience across infrastructure, consumer technology and AI, and will be a vital addition to Disney's senior leadership team," D'Amaro said in a statement.

The hire comes as D'Amaro, who became CEO in March, has moved to make technology a central driver of growth across the company. Disney+ sits at the center of that strategy, and D'Amaro has emphasized building direct relationships with fans through a more connected digital experience.

The appointment is notable given Disney's past friction with Character.AI. According to Variety, approximately a year before the hire, Disney had taken legal aim at Character.AI, issuing a cease-and-desist letter that alleged the startup was using Disney characters without authorization. The startup complied, taking down the characters Disney had flagged, according to CNBC.

Disney had not previously held a company-wide CTO position. According to Variety, the most senior technology post at Disney had previously been held by Adam Smith, who received a promotion on Thursday to chairman of direct-to-consumer for Disney Entertainment, a role focused on the streaming business.

The Anand hire arrives as Disney has been reshaping its executive ranks. Earlier this year, Disney offered voluntary early retirement packages to longtime executives as part of a broader cost-reduction effort that also included multiple rounds of involuntary layoffs targeting marketing, corporate functions, Pixar, National Geographic, and ESPN.