Interviewer(s): D. Austin. Houston, TX

Affiliation: University of Arizona

I first met Drew Michel at the 2000 meeting of the National Ocean Industries Association in Washington, D.C. I saw Drew again at the Offshore Marine Services Association meeting when I announced we would do the history study and then at Underwater Intervention, an international conference for the commercial diving and underwater operations industry that is organized through a partnership between Marine Technology Society's ROV Committee and the Association of Diving Contractors International, that I attended in March, 2002 in New Orleans. Drew gave me his card and said he would be happy to participate in an interview for the history study.

Drew is originally from Morgan City and got into the diving industry in 1966 after a short stint with NASA. He created a job for himself at Ocean Systems working in electronics. When Halliburton bought Taylor Diving and created a research center in Belle Chasse, Louisiana, Drew went to work for that company. He helped introduce remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) into the oilfield. He began his own company, ROV Technologies, in 1986 and eventually sold it to Global Industries in early 1996. He reacquired the company in early 2002 and is still an active owner.