Credit: Nathalia Dolan
Annette Verschuren
Born
North Sydney, Nova Scotia
OccupationChair & CEO of NRStor Inc.
Known forPresident of The Home Depot Canada and Asia
AwardsOrder of Canada

Annette Verschuren, OC is a Canadian business woman. She is currently the Chair & Chief Executive Officer of NRStor Inc.,[1] The company develops and manages energy storage projects.

Prior to this, Ms. Verschuren was the President of The Home Depot Canada,[2] overseeing the growth of the company's Canadian operations from 19 to 179 stores between 1996 and 2011, increasing revenue from $600 million to $6 billion.

After Home Depot, she took a year off and went around the world. In her travels, she saw energy as a global issue, with enormous business potential, and many benefits to developing economies. Back in Canada, Ms. Verschuren founded NRStor in 2012 with an investment from Northwater Capital.

Career

Verschuren began her career as a development officer with the Cape Breton Development Corporation, a coal mining operation, in Sydney, Nova Scotia. She then worked with Canada Development Investment Corporation as executive vice-president, to help privatize crown corporations. Her next stop was as a Vice President of Corporate Development at Imasco Ltd., one of Canada’s largest holding companies. Ms. Verschuren then launched Michaels of Canada, a chain of arts and crafts stores before landing at the helm of Home Depot Canada.

Ms. Verschuren has been appointed to numerous government advisory roles. Among them: Economic Advisory Council, during the economic crisis in 2008, the Canada-U.S. Council for Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders and the Advisory Council for NAFTA. Recently, Ms Verschuren participated in our Government’s Roundtable on Decarbonization.

Verschuren is a board member of Liberty Mutual, Air Canada, Saputo Inc.[3] and Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL). In addition, Ms. Verschuren is the Chair of both the MaRS Discovery District Board and the Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) on behalf of the Federal Government. Ms. Verschuren is also President of the Ontario Energy Association.

Corporate social responsibility

In 2011, Verschuren was honoured as an Officer of The Order of Canada for her contribution to the retail industry and corporate social responsibility.[4] In 2010, she was appointed co-chair of the 2012 Governor General's Leadership Conference, Canada's premier leadership training event. Annette Verschuren was honoured by the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 2019.

A champion of community investment and volunteerism, Verschuren is the Chancellor of Cape Breton University and is on the Board of the Verschuren Centre for Sustainability in Energy and the Environment, (VCSEE). (VCSEE).

She supports many causes but focuses on mental health, education and indigenous programmes. She is a founding member of the Rideau Hall Foundation. She co-chairs the Smart Prosperity Initiative, which is mapping out a course to a stronger, cleaner economy for Canada.

Author

Verschuren recently wrote a business book "Bet On Me", leading and succeeding in business and in life, published by Harper Collins. The book was a Finalist for the National Business Book Award in 2017.[5]

Education

Annette Verschuren has received fourteen Honorary Doctorates from Canadian universities including her alma mater, St. Francis Xavier University.[6]

Personal life

Annette Verschuren and her husband, Stan Shibinsky, often return to her home province of Nova Scotia and her family home. She is currently being investigated for funneling $200,000 of taxpayer money into her own company while on the board of the federal green fund in which she has recently resigned.

References

  1. ↑ "Annette Verschuren". Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  2. ↑ Dana Flavelle (January 12, 2011). "Face of Home Depot Canada is changing". Toronto Star.
  3. ↑ "Saputo Announces Election of Directors".
  4. ↑ "Appointments to the Order of Canada". June 30, 2011.
  5. ↑ Archipelago, World. "Bet On Me - Annette Verschuren - Hardcover". HarperCollins Canada. Retrieved 2017-06-27.
  6. ↑ "Annette Verschuren President - The Home Depot Canada and Asia". Canadian Club. Archived from the original on 2011-10-06. Retrieved 2011-07-05.
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