Join us for the third installment of our Canada 150 Series exploring how we collectively ensure Canada is as prosperous at 200 and beyond.
Panelists Lorraine Mitchelmore (former CEO of Shell Canada), Dr. Ilse Treurnicht (CEO of MaRS Discovery District) and Annette Verschuren (former CEO of Home Depot) will take to the stage to discuss how Canadian businesses can employ sustainability as an innovation platform to generate competitive advantage, new growth and become global, industry leaders in the clean technology space.
This session will be moderated by Susan McArthur (GreenSoil Investments) and will address the importance of designing strategic intent around sustainability as a means to delivering profitable innovation in the form of sustainable products and services. The panelists will share their unique perspectives on the roles of Canadian industry, and public policy and private capital to enable and support new economic development.
Susan J. McArthur
Susan J. McArthur is a Managing Partner at GreenSoil Investments, a growth equity firm focused on investing in Real Estate, Agro Food Technology and Building Innovation Technology.
In her previous role as an investment banker, Ms. McArthur advised corporate clients on a broad range of transactions including acquisitions and divestitures, public and private equity and debt financing, capital restructuring and other strategic initiatives.
Currently, Ms. McArthur sits on the Board of Directors of Great West Lifeco (GWL), First Capital Realty (FCR), Investor’s Group (IGM) and is a trustee of Chemtrade Logistics Income Fund (CHE.UN). She also sits on the Member Council of Sustainability Development Technology Canada. She has previously served as a Director on a number of boards, including Chair of the Canada Revenue Agency Board of Management and Director of Globalive Wireless Management (Wind Mobile), UBS Bank Canada, The Canadian Club of Toronto, Les Jardins de Metis Inc., Luminato and The Toronto International Film Festival. Ms. McArthur is a graduate of the University of Western Ontario and speaks French fluently.
Lorraine Mitchelmore
Lorraine Mitchelmore is the former president of Shell Canada, as well as the former Vice-President and Director – Heavy Oil. Ms. Mitchelmore has over 25 years of industry experience, twelve of which in Australia and England. She has held positions in the areas of exploration and production in different regions of the world, including Australia, the North Sea, the Gulf of Mexico, Africa and the Middle East. Ms. Mitchelmore worked with Petro-Canada, Chevron and BHP Petroleum before joining Shell’s team in 2002. She has since held various positions in senior management before being appointed to the post of President of Shell Canada in 2009. She received a Bachelor of geophysics at the Memorial University of Newfoundland, a Master of geophysics at the University of Melbourne, Australia, and an MBA from Kingston Business School in London, England. Ms. Mitchelmore is a member of the Conference Board of Canada Board of Directors of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada. She is also a member of the Catalyst Canada Advisory Board and was appointed President of the Canadian Conference of the Governor General’s Leadership 2015.
Dr. Ilse Treurnicht
Ilse Treurnicht is the CEO of MaRS Discovery District, a leading innovation hub in Toronto. MaRS supports entrepreneurs building young high-growth firms in the health, cleantech, work & learning, and finance & commerce sectors, and works with partners to catalyze, scale and adopt innovation. Ilse joined MaRS in early 2005 from her role as President & CEO of Primaxis Technology Ventures, a startup-stage venture capital fund focused on the advanced technologies sector. Prior to Primaxis, she was an entrepreneur with senior management roles in a number of emerging technology companies. She served as Chair of the Canadian Task Force on Social Finance in 2010, and is a member of the Science, Technology and Innovation Council (STIC). Ilse holds a DPhil in chemistry from Oxford University, which she attended as a Rhodes scholar.
Annette Verschuren
Annette Verschuren, a native of North Sydney, Nova Scotia has taken her wealth of unique experience and well-rounded skill-set in finance, operations and leadership and applied it to public, private and non-profit ventures throughout her career. In July 2012, Annette oversaw the creation of NRStor Inc. as Chair and CEO. Within 24 months the Company had opened the first commercial grid-connected energy storage flywheel installation in Canada. She has been and influencer of policy and worked to create a market for advanced energy storage in Ontario. Formerly the president of The Home Depot Canada and Asia, Annette grew Canadian operations from 19 to 179 stores between 1996 and 2011. She also led The Home Depot’s entry into China between 2006-2009. Prior to her career at The Home Depot, Annette served as the president and co-owner of Michaels of Canada (arts & crafts) 1993-1996. Annette began her career as a development officer with the Cape Breton Development Corporation, a coal mining operation, in Sydney, Nova Scotia. She then worked with the Canada Development Investment Corporation as executive vice-president, privatizing crown corporations, before joining Imasco Ltd. as vice-president, corporate development. Annette currently sits on the board of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, Air Canada, Saputo and Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. Annette volunteers her time with the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health Foundation (CAMH), the Conference Board of Canada and also serves as the Chancellor of Cape Breton University. Annette served as a member of the North American Competitiveness Council, part of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America. She was also a member of Finance Minister Flaherty’s Economic Advisory Council, a group of 11 Canadian business leaders charged with advising the Government of Canada on the global economic crisis. Most recently, Annette was appointed Chair of the Federal Government’s Expert Panel for the Venture Capital Action Plan. In 2011, Annette received the highest civilian honor as an Officer of The Order of Canada for her contribution to the retail industry and Corporate Social Responsibility.
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