{
  "id": 8270447,
  "title": "Disney Taps AI Vet Karandeep Anand as Chief Technology Officer",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/disney-taps-ai-vet-karandeep-anand-as-chief-technology-officer",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-18T16:04:59.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "TheWrap",
    "slug": "thewrap",
    "url": "https://www.thewrap.com/industry-news/business/disney-karandeep-anand-chief-technology-officer/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Former Character.AI CEO Karandeep Anand has been appointed as Disney's new senior executive vice president and chief technology officer, starting on October 2. In this newly established role, Anand will be responsible for overseeing enterprise technology, infrastructure, data, AI platforms, product development, and engineering across Disney. He will report directly to Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro.\n\nAnand led Character.AI through a period of rapid growth, building a highly engaged consumer AI audience while prioritizing user trust and safety. Prior to that, he served as president and chief product officer at fintech company Brex and held leadership positions at Meta, including vice president of ads and business products.\n\nAnand expressed his admiration for Disney's ability to blend storytelling with cutting-edge technology, stating that he is honored to join a team of exceptional creative talent. He looks forward to leveraging the company's technology capabilities to enhance Disney's fan engagement and deliver new and innovative entertainment experiences.\n\nThe appointment of Anand comes as Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro focuses on transforming Disney+ into the \"digital centerpiece\" for the company's portfolio. This includes plans to launch a unified standalone app for Disney+ and Hulu by year-end and the potential introduction of a free streaming tier to boost engagement and subscriber growth. Additionally, Disney is exploring the integration of AI in the creative process, while maintaining a human-centered, artist-driven approach to storytelling.\n\nDisney has been utilizing AI in various aspects of its business, including designing and operating theme parks, creating digital twins and simulation tools for attraction development, simplifying vacation booking and planning, and equipping cast members with AI-assisted tools to better serve guests. Anand's expertise in infrastructure, consumer technology, and AI will be a valuable addition to Disney's senior leadership team as they pursue their priorities of great storytelling, technology in service of creativity, and operating as One Disney.",
  "summary": "The newly created role will see Anand bringing in much of his Character.AI team to run the company's expanding tech and AI group The post Disney Taps AI Vet Karandeep Anand as Chief Technology Officer appeared first on TheWrap .",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/8270447.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 5,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Disney names Character.AI's Karandeep Anand its first tech chief",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/disney-names-character-ais-karandeep-anand-its-first-tech-chief",
        "published": "2026-09-18T15:17:43.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Deadline",
        "title": "A Year After Jousting With Character.AI, Disney Names Its CEO As Its First Chief Technology Officer",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/a-year-after-jousting-with-character-ai-disney-names-its-ceo-as-its",
        "published": "2026-09-18T16:38:10.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Economic Times Tech",
        "title": "Disney names Character.AI's Karandeep Anand its first tech chief",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/disney-names-character-ais-karandeep-anand-its-first-tech-chief-8281929",
        "published": "2026-09-18T17:25:30.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Straits Times Business",
        "title": "Disney names AI executive Karandeep Anand as first-ever chief technology officer",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/18/disney-names-ai-executive-karandeep-anand-as-first-ever-chief",
        "published": "2026-09-18T19:05:09.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "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."
}