Karandeep Anand, former CEO of Character.AI, has been appointed as Disney’s first chief technology officer, reporting directly to CEO Josh D’Amaro and starting in the post on October 2. The appointment followed significant executive moves on Thursday as D’Amaro reshapes the company around his “One Disney” strategy. Adam Smith, a 20-year veteran of Google and YouTube who joined Disney in 2024, was named Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer, Disney Entertainment, while Joe Earley, previously co-chairman of DTC with Smith, was shifted to a new franchise and content post at Disney Entertainment Television. Anand’s selection is notable given that Disney sent Character.AI a cease-and-desist letter in September 2025, accusing the AI startup of unauthorized use of its copyrighted characters. Disney later reached a deal with OpenAI in late-2025 for a partnership trading an investment for use of Disney characters, which fell apart months later when Sora was shuttered. As CTO, Anand will oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product, and engineering, working across the company’s segment technology teams. D’Amaro said Anand brings a rare mix of experience across infrastructure, consumer technology and AI, and will be vital as Disney furthers its three priorities: great storytelling as its North Star, technology in service of creativity, and operating as One Disney.