Archived - Minister of Finance Appoints New Chair of the Venture Capital Expert Panel

January 27, 2014 – Ottawa, Ontario – Department of Finance

Finance Minister Jim Flaherty today announced the appointment of Annette Verschuren as the new chair of the Venture Capital Expert Panel.

Ms. Verschuren has been a member of the Venture Capital Expert Panel since May 2013. She has extensive experience in the business community and the venture capital sector as Chair and CEO of NRStor Inc., a company focused on accelerating the commercialization of energy storage technologies through the planning and development of energy storage projects. She was previously President of The Home Depot Canada and Asia and President and co-owner of Michaels of Canada.

• Minister Flaherty established the Venture Capital Expert Panel in May 2013 in order to advance key elements of the Venture Capital Action Plan (VCAP).
• Over the past eight months the Panel has been providing advice and recommendations on elements of the VCAP, including the selection of four high-performing funds to receive an aggregate investment of $50 million from the federal government and the ongoing evaluation of proposals received under the Canada Accelerator and Incubator Program, led by the National Research Council of Canada’s Industrial Research Assistance Program.
• The Panel’s members are: Annette Verschuren (chair), Jim W. Davidson, Samuel L. Duboc, Gilles Duruflé and Robin Louis.
• The VCAP was launched in January 2013 to help increase private sector investments in early-stage risk capital, and contribute to a vibrant private sector-led venture capital sector in Canada.

Annette Verschuren

Ms. Annette Verschuren, O.C., has been a member of the Venture Capital Expert Panel since May 2013. She is Chair and CEO of NRStor Inc., a company accelerating the commercialization of energy storage technologies through the planning and development of energy storage projects. Previously, she was President of The Home Depot Canada and Asia and President and co-owner of Michaels of Canada.

Ms. Verschuren is a board member and Chair of the Risk Committee of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group of Boston, as well as a board member of Air Canada, Saputo Inc., the North West Company, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and the Conference Board of Canada.

She has served as the vice-chair of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, a member of the North American Competitiveness Council, and a member of the Economic Advisory Council, a group of 11 Canadian business leaders set up in 2008 to advise the Government of Canada on the global economic crisis.

A champion of community investment and volunteerism, Ms. Verschuren serves as Chancellor of Cape Breton University and chairs fundraising efforts for the University’s new Verschuren Centre for Sustainability in Energy & the Environment.

Ms. Verschuren holds honorary doctorate degrees from Dalhousie University, Mount Saint Vincent University, Carleton University and St. Francis Xavier University, where she also earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

• Venture Capital Action Plan

Marie Prentice
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Finance
613-996-7861

Jack Aubry
Media Relations
Department of Finance
613-996-8080