I have thought long and hard…
What makes listening to Annette Verschuren such an unforgettable experience?
It is probably her energy.
The president of The Home Depot for Canada and Asia is so inspiring… like a breath of fresh air.
She doesn’t project the traditional corporate gloom you get sometimes at conferences.
She has made it in a sector like the home improvement industry that, only 13 years ago, had no women leaders.
Annette believes that the leader of the future will have to inspire and include people. This is her secret. That’s where the energy comes from.
And there is more.
Annette grew up on a farm. She spoke at the annual conference of The International Alliance for Women in Toronto this week about the award she was given as the best cow milker.
That was it! I was hooked. I love cows. They give me a sense of home. My grandma used to have cows.
I was also impressed about Annette’s work in China.
The Home Depot has been in the country since 2007. It is the rising middle class that makes this market so interesting. It is estimated that 150 million Chinese will move into the middle class in the next few years.
China is the country of “do it for me” rather than “do it yourself”. Cheap labour makes it possible. So, The Home Depot has adopted a different strategy from the one it uses in the West. It has been focusing on the decorating business and has introduced paint centres into its stores.
Annette runs the business like “an orchestra conductor”. The result is a music the corporate world would need to hear more often.
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