JOE MACINNIS -PHYSICIAN-SCIENTIST EXPLORER STORYTELLER
Photo © Dr. Joe MacInnis, 2026
Joe MacInnis is a medical doctor whose pioneering research on undersea science and engineering projects earned him seven honorary degrees and his nation’s highest honour — the Order of Canada
The first person to explore the ocean beneath the geographic North Pole, he was also among the first to dive to the Titanic.
In the 1960s, working alongside pioneers like Jacques Cousteau, he and his colleagues developed the capability to live and work inside the ocean for weeks at a time — changing forever our relationship to the sea.
Dr. Joe has spent 6,000 hours beneath the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans; he has worked on projects with the US Navy, with Canada’s Special Forces, and with film director James Cameron. He has authored ten books on ocean exploration. That led Don Walsh, leader of the first team to explore the ocean’s greatest depths, to call Dr. Joe “the poet laureate of the deep ocean.”
He has made over five hundred motivational speeches to audiences such as Microsoft, VISA, TD Bank and the U.S. Naval Academy. He currently studies leadership in life-threatening environments. His latest book is Deep Leadership: Essential Insights from High-Risk Environments (Random House).
Dr. Joe has spent 6,000 hours beneath the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans; he has worked on projects with the US Navy, with Canada’s Special Forces, and with film director James Cameron. He has authored ten books on ocean exploration. That led Don Walsh, leader of the first team to explore the ocean’s greatest depths, to call Dr. Joe “the poet laureate of the deep ocean.”
He has made over five hundred motivational speeches to audiences such as Microsoft, VISA, TD Bank and the U.S. Naval Academy. He currently studies leadership in life-threatening environments. His latest book is Deep Leadership: Essential Insights from High-Risk Environments (Random House).
Joe MacInnis is a medical doctor whose pioneering research on undersea science and engineering projects earned him seven honorary degrees and his nation’s highest honour — the Order of Canada