Annette Verschuren

Cape Breton native and Canadian business icon Annette Verschuren started her career as a development officer with the Cape Breton Development Corporation. Later she launched the Canadian division of Michaels, opening 17 of the chain’s arts and crafts stores in just 26 months. She then became president of The Home Depot Canada, where she led its expansion from 19 to 179 stores over 15 years. Today she is chair and CEO of NRStor Inc., a leader in the commercialization of energy storage technologies.

Verschuren serves on the boards of Air Canada, Saputo Inc., Canadian Natural Resources Limited, the Liberty Mutual Group and the MaRS Discovery District. She chairs the Government of Canada’s Science, Development and Technology Council and is a member of the NAFTA Council. Annette Verschuren was one of 11 Canadian business leaders who advised the Government of Canada on the 2008 global economic crisis.

In 2016 she authored Bet On Me: Leading and Succeeding in Business and in Life, which was a finalist for the National Business Book Award. She was named an officer of the Order of Canada in 2011 and joined the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 2019.