Singapore – The Walt Disney Company has appointed Karandeep Anand as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, a newly created position within the entertainment giant’s senior leadership team. The appointment takes effect on 2 October, according to the company.
Anand joins Disney from Character.AI, where he served as Chief Executive Officer overseeing a period of rapid growth for the consumer-AI platform. He will report directly to Disney Chief Executive Officer Josh D’Amaro.
In his new role, Anand will oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product, and engineering across Disney’s business segments. The appointment is intended to modernise how the company builds and delivers technology company-wide, Disney said.
A number of Character.AI’s technical staff are also expected to join Disney alongside Anand, the company confirmed. The move signals a broader push by Disney to position technology as a growth driver across its operations.
D’Amaro has, since taking the CEO role, focused on deepening Disney’s direct relationships with fans through a more connected digital experience, with streaming service Disney+ positioned at the centre of that strategy. The newly created CTO position is expected to support that ambition further.
Commenting on the appointment, D’Amaro said, “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 added, “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.”
For his part, Anand described the appointment as an opportunity to combine his technology background with Disney’s creative legacy.
“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,” Anand said.
“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,” Anand added.
Prior to leading Character.AI, Anand held the role of President and Chief Product Officer at financial technology company Brex. Before that, he spent several years at Meta’s Facebook, most recently as Vice President of Ads & Business Products.
Earlier in his career, Anand spent 15 years at Microsoft in senior product and engineering leadership positions, including a stint on the team that built the Azure cloud platform. He holds a Computer Science degree from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad.
At Character.AI, Anand is credited with building one of the most engaged consumer-AI audiences globally, while also prioritising user trust and safety as the platform scaled, according to Disney.
