From CNBC · Lillian Rizzo · · 1m 30s
Disney hires first chief technology officer
New CTO Karandeep Anand will lead Disney's push to modernize technology across the company and integrate streaming with shopping and gaming.
In brief
New CTO Karandeep Anand will lead Disney's push to modernize technology across the company and integrate streaming with shopping and gaming. Disney is making technology a strategic priority by creating a new C-suite role reporting directly to the CEO, signaling a major shift toward tech-driven growth. Originally…
Disney creates first CTO role
Disney hired Karandeep Anand as its first chief technology officer, a newly created position that reports directly to CEO Josh D'Amaro. Anand starts October 2.
“Karandeep brings a rare mix of experience across infrastructure, consumer technology and AI”
Anand oversees AI and infrastructure
The new CTO will manage enterprise technology, infrastructure, data, artificial intelligence platforms, and product engineering across Disney. He'll modernize how the company builds and delivers technology.
D'Amaro made tech a priority
CEO Josh D'Amaro took over earlier this year and immediately emphasized technology as central to Disney's growth strategy. The CTO hire reflects his commitment to modernizing the company.
Disney+ getting shopping and gaming
Disney is building an integrated ecosystem on Disney+ that combines streaming content with shopping, parks experiences, and gaming. More details are expected in spring.
Anand comes from Character.AI
Anand was CEO of Character.AI, a platform for creating AI chatbots. He previously worked at Brex and Meta's Facebook. Disney is also hiring members of his technical team.
Disney and Character.AI had conflict
Disney previously sent a cease and desist letter to Character.AI for using Disney characters without permission. Character.AI removed the characters but acknowledged some were inspired by existing beloved characters.
The main idea
Disney is making technology a strategic priority by creating a new C-suite role reporting directly to the CEO, signaling a major shift toward tech-driven growth.
