Disney has named Karandeep Anand its first companywide chief technology officer, effective October 2, 2026. The former Character.AI CEO will oversee technology, infrastructure, data, AI, product and engineering as Disney expands its digital strategy.
The Walt Disney Company announced on September 18, 2026, that Karandeep Anand will join the company as senior executive vice president and chief technology officer, a newly created companywide position. He will begin the role on October 2, 2026, and report directly to Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro.
Anand will oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and artificial intelligence platforms, product and engineering. He will also work with technology teams across Disney’s businesses as the company seeks to modernize how technology is developed and deployed across the organization.
Character.AI CEO brings major tech experience
Anand most recently served as CEO of Character.AI, the consumer artificial intelligence company. Before joining Character.AI, he was president and chief product officer at financial technology company Brex.
He previously held several leadership positions at Meta’s Facebook business, most recently serving as vice president of Ads & Business Products. Earlier in his career, Anand spent 15 years at Microsoft in senior product and engineering roles and was part of the team involved in building the Azure cloud platform.
Anand holds a computer science degree from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad.
Disney puts greater focus on AI and technology
The appointment places several major technology functions under one senior executive as Disney works to strengthen its digital operations and consumer experiences. The company has identified technology as an important part of its broader growth strategy, with Disney+ serving as a central part of its effort to build more direct relationships with audiences.
Disney also said that several members of Character.AI’s technical team are expected to join the company alongside Anand. Their arrival would add artificial intelligence and consumer technology experience as Disney expands the role of technology across its entertainment, sports and experiences businesses.
