8 JUNE 2023 | BUSINESS ELITE CANADA cheque had to cover the expenses at a very young age.” “I learned a lot from those years,” she says. “I had great determination; I was a hard worker and relied on common sense. Those attributes really helped me get to where I am today.” This confidence led her to Saint FX, where she graduated with a degree in Business Administration. Straight out the gate, Verschuren worked as development officer for the Crown Corporation Cape Breton Development Corp., one of Canada’s largest underground coal mining operations, at a time when coal mining was the engine of the provincial economy. After nine years there, Verschuren “really wanted operational experience,” and then moved to Toronto for the role of executive vice-president of Canada Development Investment Corp. Verschuren then parlayed this experience to the retail sector when she cofounded Michaels, the arts and crafts stores in Canada, expanding from no storefronts at all to 17 stores in just 27 months. Then as President of The Home Depot Canada, she famously oversaw the growth of the company’s Canadian operations from 19 to 179 stores from 1996-2011, increasing revenue from $600 million to $6 billion. After Home Depot, she took a year off and went around the world. In her travels, she saw energy as a global issue, with enormous business potential, and many benefits to developing economies. “I really wanted to think about what I wanted to do next,” says Verschuren. “While travelling, I saw the challenges associated with sustainability of the planet. I came back and said I don’t want to do another retail job as I have in the past. What I want to do is make money, but do it in a purposeful way.” ENTER NRSTOR Verschuren founded NRStor in 2012 with an investment from Northwater Capital. NRStor’s vision is to be the leading profit-with-purpose energy storage developer. NRStor develops, owns, and operates industry leading energy storage projects in partnership with Indigenous communities, progressive stakeholders, and technology providers. “It’s been really exciting because I am an entrepreneur, truly and deeply, an entrepreneur,” says Verschuren. An example of NRStor’s work is its Oneida Energy Storage Project, the largest of its kind in Canada and amongst the largest in the world. In partnership with Six Nations of the Grand River Development Corporation, the Oneida project will provide a gigawatt-hour of much needed capacity to the Ontario grid, while prioritizing local Indigenous partnerships and environmental benefits. The Project will supply the Ontario electricity system
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