Disney Names Character.AI CEO Karandeep Anand as First CTO

Disney appointed Character.AI CEO Karandeep Anand as its first chief technology officer, effective October 2, 2026. He will report directly to CEO Josh D'Amaro in the newly created role and oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data, AI platforms, product and engineering. Some Character.AI technical employees are expected to join him at Disney. The Friday announcement followed Thursday moves naming Adam Smith Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer, Disney Entertainment and shifting Joe Earley to a new role at Disney Entertainment Television. Anand previously served as president and chief product officer at Brex, held senior roles at Meta including VP of ads and business products, and spent 15 years at Microsoft, including work on Azure. In September 2025, Disney sent Character.AI a cease-and-desist letter over unauthorized use of copyrighted characters; the company removed the characters afterward. A Disney-OpenAI partnership collapsed after Sora was shuttered. Josh D'Amaro said Anand brings experience across infrastructure, consumer technology and AI and will support Disney's priorities of storytelling, technology in service of creativity, and operating as One Disney. Anand said he has admired Disney for blending storytelling with technology and looks forward to helping connect fans with its stories in new ways. Contested: No contested claims found.