Michael Alter

A Chicago native with a deep commitment to the city, Sky owner Michael Alter is dedicated to his franchise and sees it as a way to encourage opportunities for young women in professional athletics. He is a strong believer that Chicago is the best sports town in the country, a big reason that he decided Chicago needed a WNBA team. Alter values hard work, education, excellence, and sportsmanship, all reasons he believes the Sky will succeed as both an organization and a team. The Sky clinched their first playoff berth in team history on August 23, 2013, their first WNBA Finals appearance on September 3, 2014 and their first WNBA Championship on October 17, 2021.

Alter, was named to Crain’s Chicago Business 40 under 40 list in 2000. is the President of the Alter Group, one of the country’s largest private commercial real estate developers. Throughout the Alter Group’s 50-year history, they have developed nearly 100 million square feet of commercial real estate; they also offer development, design and construction, and asset management services. The group has won numerous awards for its development of properties including their 835,000 square foot Thomson Learning Distribution Center, which won the Beyond the Box: Exceptional Industrial Projects award from The National Association of Industrial Office Properties. They recently ranked sixth in the National Real Estate Investor survey of America’s top office developers.

Alter is also the founder and president of City Year Chicago, which is best known for its signature program, The City Year Youth Service Corps. The goal of the program is to bring together approximately 1,000 people ranging in age from 17-24 from diverse backgrounds and put them through a full-time commitment of a year of community service, leadership development, and civic engagement where they mentor children. During City Year’s existence, more than 1 million hours of service in local communities have been logged.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Harvard University; a Doctor of Jurisprudence from the University of Chicago; and an Honorary Degree from Knox College.