Disney has appointed its inaugural companywide technology chief amid an ongoing leadership reorganization under CEO Josh D’Amaro.
On Friday, D’Amaro informed staff that Karandeep Anand will join Disney as chief technology officer and senior executive vice president.
“Karandeep brings a rare mix of experience across infrastructure, consumer technology, and AI,” D’Amaro wrote in a memo obtained by Themoneytimes.
The appointment follows Disney’s promotion of Adam Smith to lead its streaming division and the reassignment of Joe Earley, who previously co-led direct-to-consumer with Smith, to president of franchise and content strategy for Disney’s Entertainment TV segment.
In his role as technology chief, Anand will supervise enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product, and engineering teams, according to D’Amaro. This supports the “One Disney” initiative aimed at unifying the company, a priority for D’Amaro. Friday also marks D’Amaro’s six-month milestone leading the company.
Anand previously served as CEO of Character.AI, an AI startup that received a cease-and-desist letter from Disney last September. Disney demanded Character.AI refrain from using its copyrighted characters in AI-generated videos without authorization; Character.AI complied.
Prior to Character.AI, Anand spent six and a half years at Facebook after more than 15 years at Microsoft. He will report directly to D’Amaro.
“Anand is an expert builder and strategist, technically adept and product-focused, with keen instincts for what people truly want,” D’Amaro told Disney employees.
When I stepped into this role, I laid out three priorities: great storytelling as our North Star, technology in service of creativity, and operating as One Disney. Today, we have some exciting news about how we are putting that strategy into motion. I’m thrilled to share that Karandeep Anand will be joining Disney as our first Senior EVP and Chief Technology Officer, reporting directly to me, beginning October 2. Karandeep brings a rare mix of experience across infrastructure, consumer technology, and AI. He led Character.AI as CEO, taking the company through a period of explosive growth and building one of the most engaged consumer-AI audiences in the world, grounded in a deep understanding of what keeps people coming back. He also made user trust and safety a priority as the platform scaled, a discipline he brings with him to Disney. Before that, he held senior leadership roles at Meta and Microsoft and was part of the team that created Azure. He is an expert builder and strategist, technical and product-minded, with sharp instincts for what people actually want. In this role, he will oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product, and engineering, working across our segment technology teams to further modernize how we build and deliver technology company-wide. In getting to know Karandeep, one thing keeps coming through: real enthusiasm and respect for Disney and a clear sense of where technology and creativity meet. What struck me most is his belief that technology creates the most value when it helps people do their best work. This is the next chapter we’re writing together as One Disney, and I’m genuinely optimistic about what it means for our teams, our fans, and the stories ahead. Please join me in welcoming Karandeep to the team. Josh