Annette Verschuren is chair and chief executive officer of NRStor Inc. The company develops and manages energy storage projects.
Prior to this, Ms. Verschuren was president of The Home Depot Canada. She oversaw the growth of the company’s Canadian operations from 19 to 179 stores from 1996-2011 and increased revenue from $600 million to $6 billion.
After Home Depot, she took a year off and traveled around the world. In her travels, she saw energy as a global issue with enormous business potential. Back in Canada, Ms. Verschuren founded NRStor in 2012 with an investment from Northwater Capital.
Her career began at the Cape Breton Development Corporation, a coal mining company. She then worked with the Canada Development Investment Corporation to help privatize crown corporations. Her next stop was in corporate development at Imasco Ltd., one of Canada’s largest holding companies. Ms. Verschuren then started Michaels of Canada, a chain of arts and crafts stores.
Ms. Verschuren has been appointed to numerous government advisory roles. Among them: the Economic Advisory Council, during the economic crisis
in 2008, the Canada-U.S. Council for Advancement of Women Entrepreneurs and Business Leaders; and recently the Advisory Council for NAFTA.
Ms. Verschuren sits on the corporate boards of Liberty Mutual, CNRL, Air Canada and Saputo and also serves on the board of the CAMH Foundation, and Chairs the MaRS Discovery District Board. Ms. Verschuren is the Chancellor of Cape Breton University.
Ms. Verschuren wrote the book Bet On Me, about succeeding in business and in life. She is a member of both the Nova Scotia and the Cape Breton Business Halls of Fame. She champions volunteerism and was named to the Order of Canada for her contributions to the retail industry and to corporate social responsibility.
