Annette Verschuren, OC is a Canadian business executive. She is currently the Chair & Chief Executive Officer of NRStor Inc., an energy storage development company.[1]
In 1992, Ms. Verschuren brought Michaels, a chain of arts and craft stores, to Canada and oversaw the opening of 17 stores across Canada.[2] She then became President of The Home Depot Canada in 1996 and oversaw the expansion from 19 stores to 179 stores at the end of her tenure in 2011, increasing revenue from $600 million to $6 billion.[3]
In 2011, Ms. Verschuren founded the Verschuren Centre, named after her Dutch immigrant parents. The Centre is an independent clean technology development and deployment facility in Nova Scotia, Canada. The Centre's purpose is to commercialize innovative technologies and businesses, particularly in the fields of the environment, clean energy and sustainability in Canada.[4]
On May 26, 2011, Verschuren was awarded the Officer of the Order of Canada for her contributions to the retail industry and corporate social responsibility.[5] In 2019, Verschuren was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame, the first woman from Atlantic Canada to receive this honour.[6]
Verschuren was born in North Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia in 1956. She spent her childhood on a family-owned dairy farm in the region, before heading to St. Francis Xavier University in Antignonish, Nova Scotia in 1974. Verschuren graduated from university and began her first job as a development officer at the Cape Breton Development Corporation, a Crown Corporation. In 1986, Verschuren left the province and moved to Toronto, where she quickly became a woman in leadership.[7]
Business Career & Retail Leadership
Imasco
In 1989, Verschuren began a job with Imasco Ltd.,[8] one of Canada’s largest holding companies, as their Vice President of Corporate Development. She went on to run a part of their retail operations, including Den for Men,[9] before leaving the company in 1992.
Michaels Canada
In 1992, Verschuren brought Michaels to Canada and assumed the position of President of Michaels Canada, North America’s largest arts and crafts store. In the following 26 months, Verschuren oversaw the opening of 17 stores across Canada.[10]
Home Depot Canada
In 1996, Verschuren left Michaels to become President of Home Depot Canada, a home improvement and renovation retailer. Verschuren oversaw the expansion of Home Depot in Canada from 19 stores in 1996 to 179 stores at the end of her tenure in 2011, increasing revenue from $600 million to over $6 billion in that period.[11] As of 2024, Home Depot is Canada’s largest home improvement retailer with 182 stores in 10 Canadian provinces, employing more than 30,000 associates from coast to coast.[12]
Verschuren also led Home Depot’s entry into China from 2005 to 2008, as the company purchased Chinese home improvement company Home Way and its 12 stores within the country.[13]
NRStor
In 2012, Verschuren founded NRStor Incorporated, an energy storage company that builds, owns and operates energy storage projects that deliver grid services.[14] As Chair & CEO, her role is to accelerate the commercialization of energy storage technologies through the planning and development of energy storage projects worldwide and to encourage a clean energy future.
One example is the Oneida Energy Storage project[15] in partnership with Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation, Northland Power, Aecon & Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Oneida launched May 7, 2025[16] and is the largest grid-scale battery energy storage facility in operation in Canada and the fourth largest globally.[17]
Verschuren was able to tap into her proven track record and successes in the world of retail and translate it into her vision of a more sustainable future via clean tech.[18]
Awards & Recognition
Canada 125 Media
Verschuren was awarded the 125th Anniversary of the Confederation of Canada Medal in 1992 for her contributions to Canadian business. The medal was awarded to those making a significant contribution to their fellow citizens, their community, or to Canada.[19]
Distinguished Canadian Retailer of the Year
Awarded to Verschuren in 2005 by the Retail Council of Canada. The Distinguished Canadian Retailer of the Year Award recognizes a retail leader who has led their company to outstanding business success and innovation, and who has consistently demonstrated community commitment and support.[20]
Verschuren was awarded Outstanding Business Leader of the Year in 2006 by Wilfred Laurier University[21], and Communicator of the Year in 2007 by the International Association of Business Communicators’ (IABC) Toronto chapter.[22]
Awarded to Verschuren in 2012 by the World Wildlife Foundation for her work as President of Home Depot Canada and impact certified forest products.[24]
Business Council of Canada
Verschuren joined the Business Council of Canada, a national business advocacy organization representing the interests of Canada’s leading companies and entrepreneurs. Verschuren was a member[25] of the Business Council of Canada (BCC) from 2000-2011.
Canadian Business Hall of Fame
In 2019, Verschuren was the first woman from Atlantic Canada to be inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame.[26][27] The Canadian Business Hall of Fame was established by JA Canada in 1979 to honour Canada's pre-eminent business leaders for their professional and philanthropic achievements.
Board Memberships
Verschuren is a board member of Liberty Mutual[28], Air Canada[29], Saputo Inc.[30] and Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL).[31] In addition, Ms. Verschuren is the Chair of the MaRS Discovery District Board. Ms. Verschuren is on the board of the Ontario Energy Association.
Chancellor, Cape Breton University
In 2004, Verschuren was installed as Chancellor of Cape Breton University. From 2004 to 2025, she supported and led capital campaigns, including the one which saw the creation of her parents namesake building, the Verschuren Centre for Sustainability in Energy and the Environment.[32]
Verschuren Centre for Sustainability in Energy and the Environment
In 2008, Verschuren led a funding drive to build a Sustainability in Energy and the Environment centre which opened in November 2011.[33] Later named the Verschuren Centre, it is a registered not-for-profit research, development and demonstration facility providing contracted services to industry and community in the areas of bio-processing, marine processing, carbon transformation, bioplastics, energy storage and sustainable resource use. Today, the Centre is working with more than 40 companies to develop innovative new bioeconomy and green energy solutions.[34]
MaRS Discovery District (MaRS) - Chair of the Board
May 18, 2018, Verschuren was appointed as Chair of MaRS Discovery District[35] and still serves as Chair today. MaRS is North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity, providing direct support for startups, building communities of innovators and accelerating the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s most pressing issues.
Smart Prosperity Initiative
In 2016, Verschuren became the co-chair of the Smart Prosperity Leaders’ Initiative, a coalition determined to put Canada's economy on a more productive and environmentally sustainable path.[36] She helped to fund and form a 26-member coalition of CEOs and NGO heads committed to building a more prosperous and sustainable nation.
Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation (CAMH)
Verschuren sat on the CAMH Foundation Board of Directors from 2010 until she left the board in June 2022.[37] She has been a donor to CAMH and the CAMH Foundation since 2015.[38] In June 2022, Verschuren joined the CAMH Foundation Visionary Society. Visionary Society members are those who have committed $1 million or more to lead change for mental health.[39]
Verschuren has received numerous honorary doctorates from Canadian universities, including her alma mater, St. Francis Xavier University.[40]
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.
SDTC
Verschuren served as a Chairperson of the Board of Sustainable Development Technology Canada, an arm’s-length agency created by the Canadian federal government in 2001 to fund Canadian cleantech projects with public money.[41] In the fall of 2023, the government suspended SDTC from funding new projects following a third-party investigation into allegations from former SDTC employees.[42]
On 8 November 2023, Verschuren admitted to the Canadian House of Commons Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics that she had approved grants worth more than $200,000 to her own company (energy storage firm NRStor Inc.), with the money having originally been part of the SDTC's efforts to fund SDTC-linked companies with existing funding arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic.[43] Verschuren announced on 19 November 2023 that she would resign as chair of the Board of Directors to allow the board move forward on recommended changes effective 1 December 2023.[44][45]
Author
Verschuren is the author of Bet On Me: Leading and Succeeding in Business and in Life (Harper-Collins, 2017; ISBN9781443437592).
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