Disney names first CTO, former Character.AI CEO Anand to start October 2

Disney announced that Karan Depp Anand, former CEO of Character.AI, will become senior executive vice president and the company's first chief technology officer on October 2, reporting directly to CEO Josh D'Amaro. Since taking over Disney a few months ago, D'Amaro has repeatedly stressed using technology to drive business growth.

Anand will oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, as well as product and engineering, coordinating tech teams to modernize how Disney builds and delivers technology. D'Amaro said Anand brings rare combined experience in infrastructure, consumer tech and AI.

Anand previously led Character.AI, driving rapid growth and building one of the world's most active consumer AI user bases, with user trust and safety as a priority. He also worked at fintech firm Brex and Meta's Facebook. Disney also hired some talent from Character.AI's tech team.

Notably, Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to Character.AI last year, demanding it stop unauthorized use of Disney-owned copyrighted characters.