About James

Mr. Alt is Managing Director at Huron and leads the US Retail and Consumer Goods sector for its Business Advisory practice. He is a senior retail executive with hands-on experience in executing growth, performance improvement, and restructuring or turnaround strategies at mass, department stores, specialty, and e-commerce retailers or restaurants. He has a strong background in omni-channel, merchandising/sourcing, inventory, marketing, and technology & analytics, and is knowledgeable with hard goods, grocery, soft lines, and retail service categories.

Prior to joining Huron, Jim served as a senior advisor to companies and also assisted private-equity companies in helping them better understand industry trends and retail categories in their due diligence process. He also recently served as Business President for Sears Holdings, where he oversaw a large portfolio of businesses for both Sears and Kmart stores, and has also worked for other retailers including Target Stores, and Kozmo.com. Mr. Alt has served as a restructuring and turnaround director for Glass & Associates, as well as a management consultant for Ernst & Young. He thrives on solving complex organizational issues including: merchandising and inventory productivity, technology, capital investment and marketing opportunities.

Experienced in omni-channel management, lifestyle and digital marketing, white-space discovery and development, e-commerce, merchandising and global sourcing, and has a diverse retail background includes industry experience in: mattresses, outdoor living, seasonal, furniture, home, lawn & garden, electronics, sporting goods, toys, and food & consumables.