Family Business Magazine honors 10 2025 Transformational Women in Family Business who are propelling their family enterprises into the future.
CARRIE ALT
Family Shareholder | Seaman Corporation | Winnetka, Ill.
As a third-generation family member of 76-year-old Seaman Corporation, Carrie Alt understands the responsibility that comes with legacy and carries it with grace and intention. She leads by example, bringing a servant-hearted approach to every role she takes.
As an active shareholder, Alt is deeply committed to the people and future of the business, traveling regularly from Chicago to be present, not just in boardrooms, but with associates throughout the company. Over the past decade, Alt has played a pivotal role in strengthening family governance and elevating NextGen engagement. She served as family council chair for more than 10 years, helping to build continuity, communication and connection across generations. “About 10 years ago, I proposed an evolution/formalization to our family council to be more inclusive of spouses and our growing [cohort of] NextGens,” Alt says. That effort, spearheaded by Alt, involved creating structure and committees to help engage the family, launching annual family assemblies for all family members, revising the family’s governance handbook to improve clarity, initiating a family newsletter and getting the family connected through a digital platform.
Her leadership also expanded into philanthropy. “In 2022, I supported our family council philanthropy committee in developing a scholarship program for the graduating high school students of our full-time associates to help further their education. We’ve run this program for three years now, supporting nine students to date — it’s a fun, collaborative effort.”
Seaman Corporation was founded in 1949 and manufactures high-performance industrial-coated fabrics for diverse applications, including roofing, architectural uses and geomembranes. Alt, a nurse by training who worked at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago, had no interest in joining the family business when she graduated high school. “I went to college and became very excited about majoring in nursing. I graduated and worked for several years as a NICU nurse in Chicago. I left the hospital setting to raise my two daughters, and it was during those years that I became interested in leading our family meetings and exploring what ownership/stewardship meant outside of working for the business.”
Her role at Seaman has remained focused on governance and ownership, but her influence has grown. Discussing how her work at Seaman has evolved over time, Alt says, “I think the difference is that I just feel more confident in the roles I play within our business and what I can bring to it. I chaired our family council for many years, and currently sit on the executive and leadership development and compensation committees of our board. I also chair our family governance committee. I work closely with the board chair — my father, our current family council chair, my brother-in-law, and my siblings in addressing important continuity initiatives.”
With continuity in mind, Alt views NextGen education and engagement as crucial to the future of Seaman as a family-owned enterprise. “Through our family assembly programming, our NextGens have begun to learn more about our businesses. They’ve had factory tours, brief introductions to the different departments within the company, they’ve done some volunteer work and spent lots of time together. They enjoy each other and we hope that continues. We are currently working on ways to bring them into our family council, considering adding board observer programs, a junior seat on our foundation board and including them in family assembly planning.”
Equally important to Seaman’s future is a continued commitment to strong governance, including clearly defined goals that guide both the family and the business. “Our family council just went through a visioning process for our future together. This collective vision includes strong, profitable growth in our business entities; the preservation and promotion of a culture of care; aligned purpose and strong identity; strong governance structures with succession planning; an owners’ council; active G4 participation opportunities; and sustained and new family traditions.”