Disney's new CTO tells staff he 'won't pretend it will be easy' to win in the changing media landscape

Disney's new tech chief stated in a memo to workforce that he "won't feign it volition 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 guide Disney's tech transformation. He started in first October. Under D'Amaro, Disney is investing in tech to improved vie alongside Netflix and YouTube in streaming.

Anand earlier ran Character.AI, an AI startup that Disney sent a cease-and-desist letter to final fall. (Disney told Character.AI not to create chatbots from its copyrighted characters without permission, and the startup complied.)

Anand told staffers on Friday midday that the media endeavor is "at an inflection point," adding that he's assured Disney has a powerful hand gratitude to its deep, iconic satisfied archive and a passionate fan base.

"With our affluent IP and earth fan community, I powerfully accept we are uniquely positioned to win," Anand stated in his memo, which was obtained by Business Insider.

The new tech chief stated that winning in this extremely rivalrous media landscape "will obtain focus, speed, and the willingness to say no to fine ideas so we can say yes to awesome ones."

Anand additionally stated he's "admired Disney for as lengthy as I can remember" and stated he had constructive conversations in his archetypal complete week inner the Mouse House.

"What stands out most is the endowment and attention this squad puts into its work, the accomplishment Disney has perfected, and the powerful basis you've built," Anand said.

Disney has leaned into tech this twelvemonth by embracing AI and further unifying Disney+ and Hulu — the archetypal stage in building a streaming excellent app that includes games and merchandise.

Anand highlighted the identical three top priorities that D'Amaro listed in the memo announcing his hire: awesome storytelling as our North Star, innovation in assistance of creativity, and functioning as One Disney.

D'Amaro is contending alongside Disney's listless inventory price. Shares have fallen additional than 1% in the former year, compared to a 17.3% acquire for the S&P 500, and are downward complete 38% in the former five years, during US stocks broadly have risen additional than 74%.

Read Anand's complete memo below:

Team,As I near out my archetypal week at Disney, appreciate you for the heated greeted you gave me and the colleagues who joined me.I've admired Disney for as lengthy as I can remember, so strolling the lot, attending the Tech Showcase, and gathering so many of you has been an unforgettable start. What stands out most is the endowment and attention this squad puts into its work, the accomplishment Disney has perfected, and the powerful basis you've built.It's lone been a few days, but I'm additional enthusiastic than whenever I accepted this job. Josh has laid out three priorities: awesome storytelling as our North Star, innovation in assistance of creativity, and functioning as One Disney. Our job in innovation is to create those real, and the possibilities are enormous. We're at an inflection item in the tech and media industry, and alongside our affluent IP and earth fan community, I powerfully accept we are uniquely positioned to win.I won't feign it volition be easy. It volition obtain focus, speed, and the willingness to say no to fine ideas so we can say yes to awesome ones. I'll be straightforward alongside you concerning priorities and tradeoffs as I study them. But I'm assured we can get there, and do it quickly.Over the coming weeks I'll be gathering alongside teams throughout the company, and I appearance onward to sharing how I'm thinking concerning our priorities soon. Until then, delight keep doing the awesome activity you're doing.Thank you again. I'm glad and privileged to be on this team.Karan