Annette Verschuren

Chair, Board of Directors, MaRS Discovery District; Chair & CEO, NRStor Inc.

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, 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.

Her career began at the Cape Breton Development Corporation. She then worked with Canada Development Investment Corporation 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.

Ms. Verschuren sits on the corporate boards of Liberty Mutual, CNRL, Air Canada and Saputo. She is Chair of the MaRS Discovery District Board and the Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) on behalf of the Federal Government. Chair of the Ontario Energy Association and member of the IESO Stakeholder Advisory Committee (SAC).

Ms. 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).

Annette Verschuren has received several Honourary Doctorates from Canadian universities including her alma mater, St. Francis Xavier University. 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.

Annette Verschuren is a Companion of the Canadian Business Hall of Fame. She champions volunteerism and was named to the Order of Canada for her contributions to the retail industry and corporate social responsibility.

Ms. Verschuren wrote the book Bet On Me, about succeeding in business and in life. Annette Verschuren and her husband, Stan Shibinsky, often return to her home province of Nova Scotia and her family home.