Disney appoints its first CTO – the former head of Character.AI, which it previously sued
Disney has created the position of CTO for the first time in its history and appointed Karandeep Anand, the former CEO of startup Character.AI – a company that Disney accused in September 2025 of infringing copyright on its characters.
Disney has appointed Karandeep Anand as the first Chief Technology Officer in its history. According to Variety, he was selected for the role by the new CEO Josh D'Amaro, who took over after the departure of Bob Iger in March 2026 (or rather, after his announced departure, as the source states).
Anand was previously an adviser to the board of startup Character.AI and became its CEO in May 2025. In September 2025, Disney sent Character.AI a cease and desist notice over claims that the startup was hosting AI chatbots featuring characters from Disney franchises without authorization. Character.AI, which allows users to create and converse with virtual AI characters, also faces other lawsuits – including over claims that its chatbots led users to self-harm and suicide.
Before joining Character.AI, Anand spent six years at Facebook (2015–2021) and, before that, fifteen years at Microsoft.
Why it matters
The appointment shows that, under its new CEO, Disney wants to strengthen the role of technology and AI in its leadership, while also illustrating how freely leadership talent moves between AI startups and traditional media companies – even when the company involved had a legal dispute with Disney.
Relevant practical impact
What this means
For a business
Disney has created the position of CTO for the first time in its history and appointed the former CEO of AI startup Character.AI, suggesting a stronger role for technology and AI in company leadership – even though Disney itself sued the same startup for copyright infringement.
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