Erik Gruenwedel

September 18, 2026

Disney Sept. 18 announced that Character.ai’s CEO Karandeep Anand has been named its first chief technology officer, effective Oct. 2, reporting directly to CEO Josh D’Amaro.

As CTO, Anand will oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product, and engineering, working across the company’s segment technology teams to further modernize how Disney builds and delivers technology companywide.

Along with Anand’s appointment, a number of Character.AI’s technical team are expected to join Disney. The move comes as D’Amaro is sharpening Disney’s focus on technology as a driver of growth across the company. Since becoming CEO, D’Amaro has emphasized deepening Disney’s direct relationships with fans by creating a more connected Disney experience, with Disney+ as the digital centerpiece.

“I’ve admired Disney for my entire life. From movies to the parks to experiences, Disney continually blends unforgettable storytelling with the latest technology to constantly push the boundaries of what entertainment can be,” Anand wrote in a social media post.

Anand led Character.AI through a period of growth, building one of the most engaged consumer-AI audiences in the world, while also making user trust and safety a priority as the platform scaled.

Before joining Character.AI, Anand was president and chief product officer of the financial technology company Brex. He also served in several leadership roles at Meta’s Facebook, most recently as VP of ads and business products.

Earlier in his career, Anand held senior product and engineering leadership roles at Microsoft, where he worked for 15 years and was part of the team that built the Azure platform. He holds a computer science degree from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, India.

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