Annette Verschuren
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Annette Verschuren | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | North Sydney, Nova Scotia |
| Occupations | Chair & CEO of NRStor Inc. |
| Known for | President of The Home Depot Canada and Asia |
| Awards | Order of Canada |
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]
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 drew on her experience in retail to inform her subsequent work in clean technology and sustainability.[18]