The Walt Disney Company has named Indian-origin technology executive Karandeep Anand its first companywide chief technology officer, creating a senior leadership position that will oversee technology across the entertainment company.
Anand will join Disney as senior executive vice president and chief technology officer on Oct. 2. He will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Josh D’Amaro.
In the newly created role, Anand will oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and artificial intelligence platforms, product development and engineering. He will work across Disney’s business segments to modernize how the company builds and delivers technology while supporting a more connected experience for consumers.
The appointment comes as Disney places greater emphasis on technology as a driver of growth and seeks to make Disney+ the digital center of its relationship with fans. Several members of Character.AI’s technical team are also expected to join Anand at Disney.
Anand most recently served as chief executive officer of Character.AI, a consumer artificial intelligence company that enables people to interact with AI-powered characters. Disney said he guided the company through rapid audience growth while making user trust and safety a priority as the platform expanded.
Before Character.AI, Anand served as president and chief product officer of Brex, the San Francisco-based financial technology company. He previously spent more than six years at Meta’s Facebook, where his roles included vice president of ads and business products.
Earlier in his career, Anand worked at Microsoft for 15 years in senior product and engineering positions. He contributed to the team that built Microsoft Azure, giving him experience with the cloud infrastructure that now supports many enterprise and artificial intelligence applications.
Anand earned his computer science degree from the International Institute of Information Technology in Hyderabad, India. His career has since crossed cloud computing, social media, financial technology and consumer AI.
As Disney’s first enterprise-wide CTO, Anand will help determine how technology supports the company’s entertainment, sports and experiences businesses. His appointment places an Indian-origin executive at the center of one of America’s largest media companies as Disney expands its use of AI, data platforms and digital products to serve audiences worldwide.
Key Takeaways About Karandeep Anand
- He will become Disney’s first companywide chief technology officer.
- He will join the company on Oct. 2.
- He most recently served as CEO of Character.AI.
- His career includes leadership positions at Brex, Meta and Microsoft.
- He will oversee Disney’s technology, infrastructure, data, AI and engineering operations.
