Annette Verschuren

Annette Verschuren, OC is a Canadian business executive. She is currently the Chair & Chief Executive Officer of NRStor Inc., an energy storage development company.

In 1992, Ms. Verschuren brought Michaels, a chain of arts and craft stores, to Canada and oversaw the opening of 17 stores across Canada. 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.

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.

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. In 2019, Verschuren was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame, the first woman from Atlantic Canada to receive this honour.

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.