EXECUTIVE PROFILE 6 JUNE 2023 | BUSINESS ELITE CANADA Annette Verschuren is a superstar of Canadian business, though her Nova Scotian roots would perhaps make her uncomfortable with that designation. Verschuren is an Officer of the Order of Canada for her contribution to the retail industry and corporate social responsibility, and an inductee in the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 2019. She is a board member of Liberty Mutual, Air Canada, Saputo Inc. and Canadian Natural Resources Limited (CNRL). Verschuren is also the Chair of both the MaRS Discovery District Board and the Sustainable Development Technology Canada (SDTC) on behalf of the Federal Government and is on the board of the Ontario Energy Association. These are just some of the highlights. Verschuren is the recipient of 14—yes, 14—Honorary Doctorates from Canadian Universities, including her alma mater, St. Francis Xavier University. But it is her North Sydney, NS, upbringing that formed her educational foundation. Verschuren’s parents immigrated from Holland to Canada and started a dairy farm. She and her four siblings participated a great deal in the family business and saw first-hand the connection between hard work and sustaining a business. “I’m a farmer’s daughter, and grew up in a small business,” says Verschuren. “I learned that the
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