Hyderabad: Karandeep Anand, an alumnus of the International Institute of Information Technology Hyderabad (IIIT-H), has taken charge as The Walt Disney Company’s first Chief Technology Officer (CTO), placing a Hyderabad-linked technology leader at the centre of the entertainment giant’s global technology strategy.
Disney announced Anand’s appointment on September 18, saying the newly created role would be effective October 2, 2026. He joins as Senior Executive Vice President and reports directly to Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro. Disney’s official announcement says he will oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product and engineering across the company.
A Hyderabad connection
Anand graduated in Computer Science from IIIT Hyderabad. The institute has highlighted his appointment as a milestone for its alumni community. His career spans major technology and fintech companies, including Microsoft, Meta, Brex and Character.AI.
At Microsoft, Anand spent 15 years in senior product and engineering roles and was part of the team that built the Azure platform. At Meta, he held leadership positions at Facebook, most recently as Vice President of Ads and Business Products. He later became President and Chief Product Officer at Brex before serving as CEO of Character.AI.
Why Disney created the role
Disney says Anand’s remit will be to modernise how the company develops and delivers technology across its business divisions. The responsibilities cover the systems and platforms supporting data, artificial intelligence, products, engineering and company-wide infrastructure.
The appointment comes as Disney puts greater emphasis on technology to connect audiences with its films, streaming services, parks and other businesses. Anand’s experience in cloud infrastructure, consumer products and AI brings several of those areas together.
From IIIT Hyderabad to a global entertainment company
Anand’s appointment is a notable example of a Hyderabad-educated technology professional reaching a senior leadership role at a global media company. His path has crossed enterprise cloud computing, social media products, financial technology and consumer AI before leading technology strategy at Disney.
Disney also said that some members of Character.AI’s technical team are expected to join him. The company has described the CTO role as a newly created position.
What to know
- New role: Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer at The Walt Disney Company.
- Effective date: October 2, 2026.
- Education: Computer Science degree from IIIT Hyderabad.
- Previous roles: CEO of Character.AI; President and Chief Product Officer at Brex; senior roles at Meta and Microsoft.
- Responsibilities: Enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product and engineering.
Sources: The Walt Disney Company; IIIT Hyderabad; Reuters.
