The Walt Disney Company appoints Karandeep Anand as Chief Technology Officer

The Walt Disney Company has appointed Karandeep Anand as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, establishing a newly created enterprise technology leadership role at the company.

Karandeep will join Disney from Character.AI, where he most recently served as CEO. His appointment is effective October 2, 2026, and he will report directly to Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro.

The new role brings together enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product and engineering under one senior technology leadership remit as Disney continues to develop its technology capabilities across the company.

A New Enterprise Technology Role at Disney

The Chief Technology Officer position is newly created and is designed to help advance Disney's technology strategy across its businesses.

Karandeep will work across Disney's segment technology teams, with responsibility for modernising how the company builds and delivers technology at an enterprise level.

The role spans a broad technology landscape, including infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product and engineering.

Bringing AI and Consumer Technology Experience

Karandeep joins Disney after serving as CEO of Character.AI, where he led the consumer AI platform.

Before Character.AI, he served as President and Chief Product Officer at fintech company Brex. Earlier in his career, he held leadership positions at Meta, including as Vice President of Ads & Business Products, and spent 15 years at Microsoft in senior product and engineering roles, including work on the Azure platform.

That background brings together experience across cloud infrastructure, consumer technology, product, engineering and artificial intelligence.

Technology in Service of Storytelling

Disney's technology strategy sits within a business where technology and creative experiences increasingly intersect.

In announcing Karandeep's appointment, Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro highlighted the company's priorities around storytelling, technology supporting creativity and operating as one organisation.

For Karandeep, the role provides an opportunity to apply his technology and AI experience to an organisation whose products and experiences reach audiences across entertainment, sports and experiences.

Connecting Fans Through Technology

Disney has been investing in more connected digital experiences across its businesses, with Disney+ serving as a central part of its direct relationship with consumers.

Karandeep's remit places technology close to that broader effort, spanning the infrastructure, data, AI and product capabilities that support how Disney builds experiences and connects with audiences.

He has described his enthusiasm for Disney's ability to combine storytelling with technology and said he looks forward to helping the company connect fans worldwide with its stories and characters in new ways.

Character.AI Technical Team Expected to Join

Karandeep's move is also expected to bring members of Character.AI's technical team into Disney.

The company said a number of Character.AI technical team members are expected to join Disney alongside Anand, extending the technology transition beyond the executive appointment itself.

That creates an additional connection between Karandeep's experience building consumer AI technology and Disney's broader technology organisation.

Building Disney's Next Technology Chapter

Karandeep's appointment marks a new chapter in Disney's technology leadership and creates a dedicated enterprise-level role covering some of the company's most important technology capabilities.

With responsibility spanning enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product and engineering, his remit will touch the technology foundations behind Disney's businesses and consumer experiences.

The appointment comes as Disney continues to explore how technology can support its creative ambitions and deepen its relationships with audiences worldwide.

About The Walt Disney Company

The Walt Disney Company is a diversified international entertainment and media company with three core business segments: Disney Entertainment, ESPN and Disney Experiences. The company operates a portfolio of entertainment, sports and consumer experiences that reach audiences globally.