Who is Karandeep Anand, Disney's first CTO?
What's the story
Disney has appointed Karandeep Anand as its first Chief Technology Officer (CTO). Anand will report directly to the company's newly appointed CEO Josh D'Amaro. He will lead teams across the company's infrastructure, product, engineering and data/AI platforms. Before joining Disney, Anand was the CEO of chatbot start-up Character.AI for over a year, where he led their expansion into microdramas.
Career transition
Anand's appointment follows Disney's legal battle with Character.AI
Anand's move to Disney comes as a surprise, considering the legal tussle between the two companies last year.
Disney had sent cease-and-desist letters to Character.AI over copyright infringement issues.
However, Anand's appointment could indicate a new direction for Disney in its approach toward AI after parting ways with OpenAI.
D'Amaro said Anand brings a unique blend of experience in infrastructure, consumer tech and AI. He called him an "expert builder and strategist," with "sharp instincts for what fans really want."
Tech expertise
Anand's extensive tech background and experience
Anand's appointment is part of Disney's strategy to position itself as a "tech-forward" company.
He will be taking on the role of senior executive vice president and CTO, effective October 2.
Before Character.AI, Anand was the president and chief product officer at fintech firm Brex.
He also held senior positions at Meta's Facebook and spent 15 years with Microsoft where he helped build the Azure cloud-computing platform.
Educational backgrounds
Anand holds a B.Tech in Computer Science from IIIT-H
As Disney's CTO, Anand will oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product and engineering.
He will work with technology teams across different segments of the company to "further modernize" its tech operations.
Anand holds a B.Tech in Computer Science from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad (IIIT-H), graduating in 2003.
He later completed an executive certification in strategy from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management in 2007.