Karandeep Anand, Former CEO of Character.ai, Named Chief Technology Officer of The Walt Disney Company
Anand will report directly to Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro.
As The Walt Disney Company continues to venture forth into new technologies in efforts to streamline its process of content delivery, CEO Josh D'Amaro has created the new role of Chief Technology Officer for new recruit Karandeep Anand, who previously served as CEO of Character,ai and will join Disney in October. More information can be found below.
What's happening:
- Karandeep Anand, the former CEO of the chatbot service Character.ai and former "techology leader" at Meta and Microsoft, has been named Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at The Walt Disney Company, a newly created position that will report directly to Disney's current CEO Josh D'Amaro.
- Anand's role will become effective on Friday, October 2 and in a statement Disney said that he will "help Disney advance its tech strategy and strengthen how it serves fans worldwide."
- Disney also says Anand's job will be to oversee "enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product, and engineering" across the company, and he will bring a number of Character.ai's team with him to the company.
What they're saying:
- Josh D'Amaro: "Karandeep brings a rare mix of experience across infrastructure, consumer technology and AI, and will be a vital addition to Disney’s senior leadership team as we further our three priorities: great storytelling as our North Star, technology in service of creativity, and operating as One Disney. He is an expert builder and strategist, technical and product-minded, with sharp instincts for what fans actually want. He also has real enthusiasm and respect for Disney, a clear sense of where technology and creativity meet, and shares our belief that technology creates the most value when it helps people do their best work."
- Karandeep Anand: "I’ve admired Disney my entire life for how it blends unforgettable storytelling with the latest technology to constantly push the boundaries of what entertainment can be. I’m honored to join a team with such extraordinary creative talent, and I look forward to building on the company’s impressive technology capabilities to help Disney connect fans worldwide with its beloved stories and characters in new and innovative ways."
More News from The Walt Disney Company:
- Disney's embrace of YouTube creators was on full display during night 1 of Created in LA.
- Eric Schrier stepped down from a Disney executive role to launch his own producing deal.
- Sonia Rovai was appointed Disney Italy Vice President of Original Production.