Disney chief Josh D’Amaro appointed veteran tech executive Karandeep Anand as its first chief technology officer, effective Oct. 2. Anand, formerly CEO of Character. AI, will lead enterprise technology, infrastructure, data, AI, and engineering across Disney. He previously led Brex, Meta’s ads and business products, and spent 15 years at Microsoft building Azure. Disney accused Character. AI of copyright infringement a year ago; the startup complied and now joins Disney, with several technical team members expected to follow.

Anand will report to D’Amaro, who took Disney’s CEO role in March. D’Amaro emphasized Anand’s mix of infrastructure, consumer tech, and AI expertise as vital for Disney’s three priorities: storytelling, technology in service of creativity, and operating as One Disney. Anand stated he’s honored to blend storytelling with technology to connect fans worldwide.

Disney has promoted Adam Smith to chairman of direct-to-consumer and hired him as chief product and technology officer for Disney Entertainment and ESPN. Anand holds a computer science degree from the International Institute of Information Technology, Hyderabad, and a marketing strategy certification from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.