{
  "id": 14019816,
  "title": "Disney's new CTO tells staff he 'won't pretend it will be easy' to win in the changing media landscape",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/disneys-new-cto-tells-staff-he-wont-pretend-it-will-be-easy-to-win-in",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-10-12T18:09:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Business Insider",
    "slug": "business-insider",
    "url": "https://www.businessinsider.com/disney-tech-chief-first-memo-strategy-ceo-josh-damaro-2026-10"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Disney appointed Karandeep Anand as its first-ever Chief Technology Officer (CTO) in early October to lead the tech transformation at the media giant. Anand, a former Character.AI startup leader, addressed employees on Friday, noting that the media landscape is undergoing a significant shift. In his memo, Anand stated that while Disney is uniquely positioned to succeed in this evolving environment, he emphasized that winning will not be easy. He expressed optimism about Disney's strong position, citing its deep library of iconic content and passionate fan base as key advantages. Anand outlined three core priorities for the tech team: focusing on great storytelling, leveraging technology to enhance creativity, and fostering a unified \"One Disney\" culture. He also highlighted Disney's recent strides in embracing AI and unifying Disney+ with Hulu as essential steps in building a comprehensive streaming platform. D Amaro, Disney's CEO, faces challenges with the company's stock performance, which has declined significantly over the past five years. Despite these obstacles, Anand expressed confidence in the company's ability to navigate the competitive media landscape and deliver exceptional results through a dedicated and talented team.",
  "summary": "New Disney tech chief Karandeep Anand said Disney is \"uniquely positioned to win\" — but \"won't pretend\" it will be easy.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}