Published on: September 23, 2026
The Walt Disney Company has created a new company-wide technology leadership position and appointed Karandeep Anand as its first Chief Technology Officer, bringing enterprise technology, data and artificial intelligence under a unified senior role. Anand, who previously served as CEO of Character.AI, will join Disney as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer on October 2, 2026. He will report directly to Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro.
He shared the announcement on Linkeidn. While Disney has had technology leadership positions within individual business units, Anand will be the company’s first corporate-wide CTO. His appointment is intended to bring several technology functions together at the enterprise level and support greater coordination across Disney’s businesses.
As CTO, Anand will oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product and engineering. He will also collaborate with technology teams across Disney’s business segments as the company works to modernise its technology infrastructure and development capabilities.
Several members of Character.AI’s technical team are also expected to move to Disney alongside Anand. The appointment comes as the company places increased emphasis on technology as part of its broader business strategy.
“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 as we further our three priorities: great storytelling as our North Star, technology in service of creativity, and operating as One Disney,” D’Amaro said.
“He is an expert builder and strategist, technical and product-minded, with sharp instincts for what fans actually want. He also has real enthusiasm and respect for Disney, a clear sense of where technology and creativity meet, and shares our belief that technology creates the most value when it helps people do their best work,” he added.
Before joining Disney, Anand was CEO of Character.AI, where he led the AI chatbot platform during a period of rapid expansion, with a focus on user trust and safety alongside growth.
His previous experience includes serving as President and Chief Product Officer at fintech company Brex and holding multiple leadership roles at Meta’s Facebook. His final position at Meta was Vice President of Ads & Business Products.
Earlier, Anand spent 15 years at Microsoft in senior product and engineering positions and was part of the team involved in building the Azure platform.
Anand holds a Computer Science degree from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad.
Speaking about his appointment, Anand said, “I’ve admired Disney my entire life for how it blends unforgettable storytelling with the latest technology to constantly push the boundaries of what entertainment can be.”
“I’m honored to join a team with such extraordinary creative talent, and I look forward to building on the company’s impressive technology capabilities to help Disney connect fans worldwide with its beloved stories and characters in new and innovative ways,” he added.
The leadership appointment comes as Disney continues to strengthen its direct engagement with audiences and develop a more connected digital experience, with Disney+ playing a central role in its digital ecosystem.
Anand will take charge of Disney’s enterprise technology, infrastructure, data, AI platforms, product and engineering functions through the newly established company-wide CTO role from October 2, reporting directly to D’Amaro.
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