The Walt Disney Co. has hired Karandeep Anand, the former chief executive of generative-AI chatbot company Character.AI, as its first companywide chief technology officer. Anand will become a senior executive vice president on Oct. 2, report directly to Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro and oversee enterprise technology, infrastructure, data and AI platforms, product, and engineering across the company [engadget.com][gizmodo.com][thenextweb.com][nytimes.com]. Disney appointed Smith to lead streaming one day before naming Anand, while Joe Earley moved to a franchise and content-strategy role within entertainment television. Several Character.AI technical employees are expected to join Anand at Disney [engadget.com][latimes.com][yna.co.kr]. Disney sent Character.AI a cease-and-desist letter in September 2025 alleging unauthorized use of its copyrighted characters; the startup subsequently removed the characters after receiving the notice [techcrunch.com][thenextweb.com][yna.co.kr]. Highlights: • Executive background: Anand previously spent more than 15 years at Microsoft, led ads and business products at Meta and held a senior product role at fintech company Brex [yna.co.kr][globo.com]. • CEO selection: Josh D’Amaro chose Anand after taking over as Disney CEO from Bob Iger in March [techcrunch.com]. • Leadership changes: Disney appointed Smith to run streaming one day before naming Anand, while Joe Earley moved to a franchise and content-strategy role within entertainment television [latimes.com][businessinsider.com]. Perspectives: Character.AI: The company said its app remained live while it considered next steps [gizmodo.com]. (Gizmodo) Disney legal team: Disney’s 2025 cease-and-desist letter alleged that Character.AI hosted chatbots impersonating Disney characters that were, in some cases, sexually exploitative and dangerous to children [thenextweb.com]. (The Next Web) "Karandeep brings a rare mix of experience across infrastructure, consumer technology and AI, and will be a vital addition to Disney's senior leadership team as we further our three priorities: great storytelling as our North Star, technology in service of creativity, and operating as One Disney" — Josh D'Amaro Sources: • Disney hires ex-CEO of AI company it accused of copyright infringement - engadget.com • Disney hires Karandeep Anand as its first CTO as AI shapes industry - firstpost.com • After Threatening Character.AI With Legal Action, Disney Puts Its CEO in Charge of Tech - gizmodo.com • Disney’s first CTO led an AI startup it once accused of copying its characters - techcrunch.com • Disney’s first CTO is Character.AI’s former CEO - theverge.com • Disney names Character.AI’s chief executive as its first CTO - thenextweb.com • Disney hires former Character.AI executive as first CTO - techinasia.com • Disney Hires Its First CTO Amid Industry Push to Embrace A.I. - nytimes.com • Disney names first-ever chief technology officer, a day after tapping ex-YouTube executive to run streaming - latimes.com • Disney taps Character.AI CEO as first tech chief - lemonde.fr • 디즈니, CTO 신설…AI스타트업 '캐릭터.AI' 대표 영입 - yna.co.kr • Disney names AI executive as first-ever chief technology officer - thehindubusinessline.com • Disney names CTO for the first time as media giant expands tech push - cnbc.com • Disney has hired veteran technology executive Karandeep Anand as its first chief technology officer: Who is he? - livemint.com • Disney has a new tech chief — read the memo from CEO Josh D'Amaro - businessinsider.com • 米ディズニー、初のCTOにAI企業前トップ　動画事業の強化へ - nikkei.com • Disney contrata seu primeiro vice-presidente de tecnologia - globo.com --- 📰 Story aggregated by Kagi News