Joseph MacInnis

Joseph MacInnis is a physician, ocean explorer, and leadership expert whose career has taken him to the most extreme environments on Earth, from living under Arctic ice to leading scientific expeditions to the wreck of the Titanic. His pioneering deep-sea research and high-risk explorations have taught him what few leaders will ever experience firsthand about decision-making under pressure, trust, and leading through the unknown.

From Under the Arctic Ice to the Titanic

Dr. MacInnis was the first person to dive under the North Pole and has led some of the most ambitious underwater expeditions in history, including multiple dives to the Titanic wreck. His career spans medicine, ocean science, and leadership research, giving him a unique perspective on what it takes to lead teams through dangerous, uncertain, and high-stakes environments where failure is not theoretical but potentially fatal.

Leadership Lessons from the Deep

MacInnis’ powerful presentations draw on decades of extreme exploration to reveal the timeless leadership principles that separate those who succeed under pressure from those who do not. His keynotes deliver compelling insights on leadership and decision-making under extreme pressure, building trust when lives depend on it, leading teams through uncertainty and the unknown, and the deep leadership principles that apply from ocean exploration to the boardroom.

Deep Leadership: The Quest for 21st Century Leadership
In his presentation, Joseph MacInnis describes mission-critical moments managing complex technologies in lethal environments, and how they reveal essential traits of leadership. He uses dramatic video clips to take audiences on a perilous journey under the ocean and into space.  Meet scientists who use $20 million research submarines to explore the abyssal ocean and astronauts who orbit the earth at 28,000 km per hour, constructing the international space station. To perform effectively they’ve become masters of collaboration who exhibit strategic imagination, fierce ingenuity, high-empathy communication, team genius, physical toughness, mental resilience and resolute courage. Filled with practical information, this presentation illuminates eight leadership traits and steps needed to acquire them.

Risk-Management Lessons: From the Titanic and Other Deep-Sea Challenges

Success: When Your Life Depends on it

Deep, Dangerous Lives: Leadership Lessons from Deep-Sea and Space Explorers