Karandeep Anand, who most recently served as CEO of Character.AI, is moving from the consumer AI industry to one of the world’s biggest entertainment companies after being appointed The Walt Disney Company’s new Chief Technology Officer.Disney said Anand will join as Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer on October 2. The newly created role will put him in charge of enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product and engineering. He will report to Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro.“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,” D’Amaro said. “He is an expert builder and strategist, technical and product-minded, with sharp instincts for what fans actually want. He also has a clear sense of where technology and creativity meet.”
From Microsoft to Meta and Brex
Anand has spent much of his career building and managing technology products at major global companies.He spent 15 years at Microsoft, holding senior product and engineering roles and working on the team that built the Azure platform. He later moved to Meta, where he held several leadership positions at Facebook, most recently serving as vice president of Ads & Business Products.He then joined financial technology company Brex as president and chief product officer, expanding his experience across consumer and business technology.
His role at Character.AI
At Character.AI, Anand served as CEO, an AI platform that allows users to interact with AI-powered characters. The company experienced rapid growth during his tenure, building a large consumer audience.His work at Character.AI built on his expertise in consumer artificial intelligence, a field that is increasingly shaping how people interact with digital products.
What will Anand do at Disney?
At Disney, Anand will oversee the company’s enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product and engineering operations.He will also work with technology teams across Disney’s business segments as the company seeks to modernise its technology systems and how products are developed and delivered.The appointment comes as Disney puts greater focus on technology and its digital relationship with audiences. Disney+ remains a central part of that strategy as the company looks to build more connected experiences for fans.Several members of Character.AI’s technical team are also expected to join Disney alongside Anand.
Education
Anand holds a degree in computer science from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad.His career has taken him through cloud computing at Microsoft, social media and digital products at Meta, financial technology at Brex and consumer AI at Character.AI. He now takes on a newly created technology leadership role at Disney.
