Disney has appointed Karandeep Anand as its first-ever chief technology officer, a newly established role that reflects the company’s intensified focus on technology. Anand, formerly CEO of Character.AI, will join Disney on October 2 as senior executive vice president and CTO, reporting directly to CEO Josh D’Amaro. This strategic hire aligns with D’Amaro’s agenda to leverage technological advancements across Disney’s diverse business units.

In his new role, Anand will oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and artificial intelligence platforms, as well as product and engineering teams. Disney aims to modernize its technology framework and enhance creativity and operational efficiency throughout the company. D’Amaro emphasized that Anand’s expertise in AI and consumer technology will be essential in driving Disney’s priorities, which include storytelling, integration of technology and unified company operations.

The move to enhance Disney’s technological capabilities is closely tied to growth efforts in streaming and theme parks, which have recently contributed significantly to the company’s financial performance. Disney+ remains at the center of these plans, with potential initiatives such as launching an ad-supported tier to broaden its subscription base. Additionally, Disney is exploring deeper integration between streaming content, consumer products, experiences, and gaming within the Disney+ platform, signaling a shift toward a more interconnected digital ecosystem.

Anand’s background includes managing rapid growth at Character.AI and previous roles at Brex and Meta. Along with Anand, Disney is recruiting additional technical talent from Character.AI to bolster its tech teams. This development follows prior tensions between Disney and Character.AI over intellectual property issues, which have since been addressed. Overall, Disney’s leadership sees this technology investment as vital to supporting creativity and sustaining long-term growth in an increasingly digital entertainment landscape.