Disney's first chief technology officer Karandeep Anand to oversee AI and data

The Walt Disney Company is creating a new layer of technology leadership as it puts greater focus on how technology supports its wider business. Disney's first chief technology officer, Karandeep Anand, will join the company as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer from October 2.

Anand, who most recently served as CEO of Character.AI, will report directly to Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro. His responsibilities will cover enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product and engineering across Disney’s segment technology teams.

Disney Creates a New Technology Leadership Layer

The newly created CTO position brings several technology functions under one senior leader. Anand will work across Disney’s businesses to modernise how the company builds and delivers technology.

The move comes as D’Amaro puts greater emphasis on technology as a driver of growth and on creating a more connected Disney experience, with Disney+ positioned as the digital centrepiece.

For Disney's first chief technology officer, the remit therefore goes beyond infrastructure. It connects the technology foundations behind the company with data, AI, products and engineering.

Karandeep Anand Brings Character.AI Experience to Disney

Anand joins Disney after leading Character.AI through a period of rapid growth, while making user trust and safety a priority as the platform scaled. Before that, he served as President and Chief Product Officer at Brex and held several leadership positions at Meta, including Vice President of Ads & Business Products.

Earlier in his career, Anand spent 15 years at Microsoft, where he was part of the team that built the Azure platform. His experience spans consumer AI, enterprise platforms, product development and engineering.

Several members of Character.AI’s technical team are also expected to join Disney alongside Anand, adding another element to the company’s technology push.

Disney AI and Data Platforms Get a Wider Mandate

The appointment puts Disney AI and data platforms within a broader technology remit. Anand will oversee these areas alongside infrastructure, product and engineering, giving the new role responsibility across both the underlying systems and the teams building technology on top of them.

That scope reflects Disney’s stated priorities of keeping storytelling as its North Star, putting technology in service of creativity and operating as One Disney.

As Disney's first chief technology officer, Anand takes on a role designed to bring these technology functions closer together. His background across AI, infrastructure, product and engineering gives the position a wide reach, from the systems supporting Disney's operations to the experiences it wants to create for fans.

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