The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance is preparing for a generational handover, with its first new top executive in roughly four decades set to guide the storied event into its next chapter. After years under a single leader, the organization has named Vince W. Finaldi as its new president and chairman, signaling both continuity and a deliberate shift toward a more expansive future for the concours and its surrounding activities.
For an event that has long defined the upper tier of the collector car world, a leadership change of this magnitude is rare and consequential. I see this transition as a test of whether the Pebble Beach Concours can preserve its aura of tradition while adapting to a changing automotive landscape, from evolving tastes in classic cars to new expectations around access, storytelling, and community engagement.
A rare leadership change at Pebble Beach
For the first time in about 40 years, the Pebble Beach Concours is moving to new leadership at the very top. The organization has confirmed that Vince W. Finaldi will become Concours President and assume the role of Pebble Beach Concours Chairman, ending an era in which one figure effectively defined the event’s direction and public face. Internal communications described the search for a successor as “exhaustive,” underscoring how carefully the organizers approached a decision that will shape the concours for decades.
The shift was framed to the concours community as an “Important Concours Update,” shared across official channels that emphasized both the weight of the decision and the desire to reassure long‑time participants. Announcements explained that the change would follow the 75th celebration of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, positioning the anniversary as a natural pivot point rather than a rupture. By timing the transition just after such a milestone, the organizers signaled that they see the concours not as a static event but as a living institution that must evolve while honoring its past.
Who is Vince W. Finaldi?
The choice of Vince W. Finaldi reflects a clear preference for someone steeped in the collector car world rather than a pure corporate manager. Reporting describes Finaldi as a collector car enthusiast with deep experience across the ecosystem that surrounds Pebble Beach, from auctions and concours judging to the restoration and preservation culture that underpins serious collecting. He is portrayed as someone who has been present at the event for years, not as an outsider parachuted in to impose a new vision.
Finaldi’s background also includes hands‑on involvement with events at which his sons worked, a detail that hints at a family‑level commitment to the hobby rather than a purely professional attachment. In interviews, he has stressed that the concours is not a static event and that leadership requires having a “pulse” on what is happening in the broader car community. That perspective suggests he intends to balance the expectations of long‑time entrants who bring cars like prewar Bugattis or 1950s Ferraris with the interests of newer enthusiasts who might be drawn to later icons, from 1960s Porsche 911s to 1990s Japanese performance cars.
From a single steward to a broader team
For roughly four decades, the Pebble Beach Concours was effectively shaped by one central leader, a structure that brought consistency but also concentrated decision‑making in a single set of hands. The new arrangement with Finaldi as Concours President and chairman is being framed as part of a broader leadership team, with an emphasis on collaboration behind the scenes. Organizers have highlighted that much of Finaldi’s work will be out of public view, coordinating with staff, judges, and partners to keep the event aligned with its reputation as one of the foremost concours in the world.
That shift from a singular steward to a more distributed leadership model matters because the concours now sits at the center of a much larger ecosystem than it did decades ago. The Pebble Beach Concours weekend is surrounded by major auctions, manufacturer debuts, and satellite shows that stretch from preservation‑class displays to high‑end sales. Finaldi is expected to work closely with this network, ensuring that the concours field on Sunday morning still feels like the pinnacle while acknowledging that the event’s influence now extends across an entire week of activity on the Monterey Peninsula.
Balancing heritage with change
In public comments, Finaldi has been explicit that the Pebble Beach Concours must evolve while honoring its storied past. He has described the event as one that cannot remain static, a recognition that the definition of a “classic” car is constantly shifting as new generations of enthusiasts come of age. That stance opens the door to more varied classes on the lawn, where a 1930s Alfa Romeo 8C might share space with a 1970 Lamborghini Miura or even younger icons that have now crossed into collectible territory.
At the same time, the messaging around the leadership change has been careful to reassure long‑time entrants and judges that the core standards of Pebble Beach will not be diluted. Official updates to the community have stressed continuity, positioning Finaldi as a custodian of the concours’ heritage rather than a disruptor. The emphasis on his existing ties to Pebble Beach, and his understanding of everything from preservation judging to the nuances of period‑correct restoration, suggests that the organizers expect him to refine the event’s format rather than overhaul it.
What the transition means for the concours community
For owners, restorers, and judges who treat Pebble Beach as the apex of the concours calendar, the leadership change raises practical questions about how the event might feel different in the coming years. Finaldi has indicated that a significant portion of his work will involve listening to that community, from established collectors who bring multi‑million‑dollar cars to first‑time entrants hoping to earn a class award. His comment that “if you do not have your pulse on what is going on, you cannot do the job” points to a leadership style grounded in ongoing dialogue rather than top‑down edicts.
The concours’ own communications have framed the transition as a moment for the broader community to engage with the future of Pebble Beach. By sharing the “Important Concours Update for Our Community” across platforms such as Instagram and Facebook, the organizers invited not only traditional entrants but also spectators and younger enthusiasts into the conversation. For an event that has sometimes been perceived as remote, this more open posture under Finaldi could shape everything from how classes are curated to how stories about the cars, their owners, and their histories are told on the lawn and online.
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