Disney Names Karandeep Anand as New CTO Amid Focus on Tech-Driven Growth

The Walt Disney Company has announced that Karandeep Anand will join as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, effective October 2. This newly created position will see Anand oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data, and AI platforms, product, and engineering.

Anand brings a wealth of experience to the role, having most recently served as CEO of Character.AI. He will report directly to Disney's Chief Executive Officer Josh D'Amaro, who stated that Anand 'brings a rare mix of experience across infrastructure, consumer technology, and AI'.

Before Character.AI, Anand was President and Chief Product Officer at financial technology company Brex. He also held senior product and engineering leadership roles at Meta's Facebook, most recently as Vice President of Ads & Business Products. Earlier in his career, he worked for 15 years at Microsoft, where he was part of the team that built the Azure platform.

The appointment comes as D'Amaro focuses on technology as a driver of growth across Disney. Since becoming CEO, D'Amaro has emphasized deepening Disney's direct relationships with fans by creating a more connected Disney experience, with Disney+ at its core.