The Walt Disney Company has appointed Indian-origin technology executive Karandeep Anand as its Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO), a newly created position at the entertainment giant.
Disney said Anand will assume the role on October 2 and will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Josh D’Amaro. Before joining Disney, Anand served as CEO of Character.AI.
Announcing the appointment, Disney said Anand brings extensive experience in infrastructure, consumer technology and artificial intelligence.
D’Amaro welcomed Anand to the company’s senior leadership team, saying his expertise would support Disney’s focus on storytelling, the use of technology to enhance creativity and closer integration across the company.
“Karandeep brings a rare mix of experience across infrastructure, consumer technology and AI,” D’Amaro said. He described Anand as an experienced builder and strategist with strong technical and product expertise and an understanding of what audiences want.
D’Amaro also highlighted Anand’s interest in Disney and his understanding of how technology and creativity can work together to help employees and creators do their best work.
Anand’s Educational and Professional Journey
According to Anand’s LinkedIn profile, he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer science from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad. He later completed marketing-related studies at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Anand began his professional career as an intern at Microsoft. He went on to spend more than 15 years with the technology company, eventually serving as a director of product management.
He later joined Meta, where he worked for more than six years. Anand subsequently moved to fintech company Brex before taking over as CEO of Character.AI, a position he held for nearly two years.
He will now take on the newly created CTO role at Disney.
Anand Reacts to Disney Appointment
Following the announcement, Anand shared his thoughts on LinkedIn, confirming that he would join Disney as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer.
He also indicated that members of Character.AI’s technical team were expected to join him at Disney.
Anand said he had admired Disney throughout his life, citing its films, theme parks and experiences as examples of how the company combines storytelling with technology.
He said he was honoured to join Disney and looked forward to working with its creative teams and building on the company’s existing technology capabilities.
Anand said the goal would be to help Disney connect audiences around the world with its stories and characters in new ways.
Reflecting on his time at Character.AI, Anand said he was proud of what the company and its employees had built, describing the platform as a leading destination for entertainment and fandom.
He also thanked D’Amaro and the Disney team for welcoming him to the company.
