Karandeep Anand, former CEO of Character.AI, will be The Walt Disney Company’s first Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
Karandeep Anand
Anand will begin his new position as Senior Executive Vice President and CTO on October 2, reporting directly to Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro.
In September 2025, Disney sent a cease and desist letter to Character.AI, which allows users to personally create and interact with AI-powered chatbots inspired by existing characters. Disney said the AI startup “adds a sadistic and perverted twist to Disney’s characters by using AI models that engage young people in inappropriate conversations about sex, self-harm, and deceit, and encouraging anti-social and dangerous behavior.”
A Character.AI spokesperson later released a statement saying Disney’s characters had already been removed and likened their platform to fanfiction.
Character.AI has faced several other controversies and lawsuits, including over teenagers self-harming and committing suicide after interacting with chatbots on the platform.
Not only is Anand becoming Disney’s CTO, “a number of Character.AI’s technical team” are also expected to join the company.
Anand was previously president and chief product officer of Brex and held several leadership roles at Facebook. He worked for 15 years at Microsoft.
“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,” said D’Amaro. “He is an expert builder and strategist, technical and product-minded, with sharp instincts for what fans actually want.”
The CEO added, “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.”
Anand said, “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. 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 will oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product, and engineering. He will “further modernize” how the company builds and delivers technology company-wide, working across technology teams.
Disney says Anand’s hiring illustrates that D’Amaro is sharpening the company’s focus on technology as a growth driver.
Though not CTO, Disney’s former highest-ranking tech executive was Adam Smith. He was promoted to chairman of Direct-to-Consumer for Disney Entertainment earlier this week.
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