GoKawiilDisney appoints Karandeep Anand as company's first-ever Chief Technology Officer
Disney announced it has hired Karandeep Anand, former CEO of Character.AI, to fill a newly created role as senior executive vice president and chief technology officer, effective October 2. Anand will report directly to CEO Josh D'Amaro and oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data, AI platforms, product and engineering across the company.
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The hire signals Disney's intent to formalize and centralize its technology strategy under new CEO Josh D'Amaro, who has stressed pairing storytelling with tech investment to drive growth in streaming and parks. Bringing in an AI-focused executive suggests Disney wants to accelerate AI adoption across its business lines, including its Disney+ platform, as it explores options like a free ad-supported tier.
- Disney creates a new C-suite role, CTO, for the first time in company history.
- Karandeep Anand, formerly of Character.AI, will lead enterprise tech, AI, data and engineering efforts.
- The move follows other leadership changes as CEO Josh D'Amaro pushes a tech-driven growth strategy.
Source: cnbc.com — Lillian Rizzo, 2026-09-18
Published there as: “Disney names CTO for the first time as media giant expands tech push”
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