Disney taps Karandeep Anand as first-ever CTO

Disney's creation of a first-ever chief technology officer role signals a push to unify technology strategy across its streaming, studios, theme parks, and corporate operations. The company chose Karandeep Anand, who spent 15 years at Microsoft helping build Azure and later held senior roles at Meta, Brex, and Character.AI, bringing a mix of cloud infrastructure and generative AI experience. Several Character.AI technical employees may follow him, which could give Disney an experienced AI team rather than building one entirely through individual hires.

The appointment comes alongside other leadership changes: Adam Smith was named chairman of streaming with responsibility for subscription-video strategy and advertising technology, and Joe Earley received a new television-franchise role. Together, these moves suggest CEO Josh D'Amaro wants technology, streaming, advertising, and franchise development to advance under a more coordinated strategy.

However, Character.AI's legal history—including a Pennsylvania lawsuit from May and a January settlement with Google involving a teenager's suicide—places the safety practices of the company Anand led under scrutiny. Disney's family-focused brand may require stricter AI safeguards than Character.AI has used, so the success of this hire could hinge on how quickly and thoroughly those safeguards are implemented.