Disney’s new tech chief said in a memo to employees that he “won’t pretend it will be easy” to win in the changing media environment.
Karandeep Anand, the Mouse House’s first-ever companywide CTO, was hired by CEO Josh D’Amaro to lead Disney’s tech transformation. He started in early October. Under D’Amaro, Disney is investing in tech to better compete with Netflix and YouTube in streaming.
Anand previously ran Character.AI, an AI startup that Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to last fall. (Disney told Character.AI not to make chatbots from its copyrighted characters without permission, and the startup complied.)
Anand told staffers on Friday afternoon that the media business is “at an inflection point,” adding that he’s confident Disney has a strong hand thanks to its deep, iconic content library and a passionate fan base.
“With our rich IP and global fan community, I strongly believe we are uniquely positioned to win,” Anand said in his memo, which was obtained by Business Insider.
The new tech chief said that winning in this highly competitive media landscape “will take focus, speed, and the willingness to say no to good ideas so we can say yes to great ones.”
Anand also said he’s “admired Disney for as long as I can remember” and said he had constructive conversations in his first full week inside the Mouse House.
“What stands out most is the talent and care this team puts into its work, the craft Disney has perfected, and the strong foundation you’ve built,” Anand said.
Disney has leaned into tech this year by embracing AI and further unifying Disney+ and Hulu — the first step in building a streaming super app that includes games and merchandise.
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Anand highlighted the same three top priorities that D’Amaro listed in the memo announcing his hire: great storytelling as our North Star, technology in service of creativity, and operating as One Disney.
D’Amaro is contending with Disney’s listless stock price. Shares have fallen more than 1% in the past year, compared to a 17.3% gain for the S&P 500, and are down over 38% in the past five years, while US stocks broadly have risen more than 74%.
Read Anand’s full memo below:
Team, As I close out my first week at Disney, thank you for the warm welcome you gave me and the colleagues who joined me. I’ve admired Disney for as long as I can remember, so walking the lot, attending the Tech Showcase, and meeting so many of you has been an unforgettable start. What stands out most is the talent and care this team puts into its work, the craft Disney has perfected, and the strong foundation you’ve built. It’s only been a few days, but I’m more excited than when I accepted this job. Josh has laid out three priorities: great storytelling as our North Star, technology in service of creativity, and operating as One Disney. Our job in technology is to make those real, and the possibilities are enormous. We’re at an inflection point in the tech and media industry, and with our rich IP and global fan community, I strongly believe we are uniquely positioned to win. I won’t pretend it will be easy. It will take focus, speed, and the willingness to say no to good ideas so we can say yes to great ones. I’ll be direct with you about priorities and tradeoffs as I learn them. But I’m confident we can get there, and do it quickly. Over the coming weeks I’ll be meeting with teams across the company, and I look forward to sharing how I’m thinking about our priorities soon. Until then, please keep doing the great work you’re doing. Thank you again. I’m glad and privileged to be on this team. Karan