Disney has hired its first-ever companywide tech chief as its leadership shuffle under CEO Josh D’Amaro continues.
Karandeep Anand is joining Disney as chief technology officer and a senior EVP, D’Amaro told employees on Friday.
“Karandeep brings a rare mix of experience across infrastructure, consumer technology, and AI,” D’Amaro said in a memo, which was obtained by Business Insider.
The hire comes a day after Disney promoted Adam Smith to the head of its streaming business and moved Joe Earley, who’d shared the direct-to-consumer co-president title with Smith, to the president of franchise and content strategy for Disney’s Entertainment TV arm.
As tech chief, Anand will oversee the enterprise tech, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product, and engineering teams, D’Amaro said. This aligns with the “One Disney” initiative designed to unify the company, which D’Amaro has made a priority. Friday marks D’Amaro’s six-month anniversary at the helm of the Mouse House.
Anand has been the CEO of Character.AI, an AI startup to which Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter last September. Disney had told Character.AI not to use its copyrighted characters in AI-generated videos without permission; Character.AI complied with the request.
Before joining Character.AI, Anand spent six and a half years at Facebook, following more than 15 years at Microsoft. He will report to D’Amaro.
Anand “is an expert builder and strategist, technical and product-minded, with sharp instincts for what people actually want,” D’Amaro told Disney staffers.
Read D’Amaro’s full memo to Disney employees here:
When I stepped into this role, I laid out three priorities: great storytelling as our North Star, technology in service of creativity, and operating as One Disney. Today, we have some exciting news about how we are putting that strategy into motion. I’m thrilled to share that Karandeep Anand will be joining Disney as our first Senior EVP and Chief Technology Officer, reporting directly to me, beginning October 2. Karandeep brings a rare mix of experience across infrastructure, consumer technology, and AI. He led Character.AI as CEO, taking the company through a period of explosive growth and building one of the most engaged consumer-AI audiences in the world, grounded in a deep understanding of what keeps people coming back. He also made user trust and safety a priority as the platform scaled, a discipline he brings with him to Disney. Before that, he held senior leadership roles at Meta and Microsoft and was part of the team that created Azure. He is an expert builder and strategist, technical and product-minded, with sharp instincts for what people actually want. In this role, he will oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product, and engineering, working across our segment technology teams to further modernize how we build and deliver technology company-wide. In getting to know Karandeep, one thing keeps coming through: real enthusiasm and respect for Disney and a clear sense of where technology and creativity meet. What struck me most is his belief that technology creates the most value when it helps people do their best work. This is the next chapter we’re writing together as One Disney, and I’m genuinely optimistic about what it means for our teams, our fans, and the stories ahead. Please join me in welcoming Karandeep to the team. Josh
Read the full article here
