By admin 
The previous CEO of the FIA World Endurance Championship, Gerard Neveu, has taken on the position of CEO of Retromobile US, the primary growth of Paris’ celebrated annual gathering of automotive collectors, distributors and fans.
The 60 year-old Frenchman will steer the organizing workforce for the occasion at New York’s Javits Middle from November 19-22 subsequent yr. After 25 years within the motorsport and automotive industries, Neveu has an intensive contacts guide and a deep expertise of staging worldwide occasions and working within the US market. Throughout his decade on the helm of WEC, he laid the groundwork for the championship as it’s as we speak, with hybrid expertise attracting a number of producers.
Neveu was additionally one of many key protagonists within the convergence of laws between the US based mostly Worldwide Motor Sports activities Affiliation (IMSA, owned by NASCAR) and the Car Membership de l’Ouest (ACO, proprietor of WEC and founding father of the 24 Hours of Le Mans). Previous to WEC he served because the Director of Paul Ricard Circuit within the South of France.
Retromobile Paris celebrates its fiftieth anniversary subsequent yr, and the New York present goals to capitalize on the burgeoning US basic automotive scene, the place greater than 50% of the worldwide collectors’ automobiles market is concentrated. Neveu’s first strikes within the position have been to safe 400,000 sq. toes in 4 halls in Javits Middle and strike an public sale partnership with Gooding Christie’s.
“The idea of Retromobile is particular,” says Neveu. “You discover each the most important automotive collectors and distributors from all all over the world on the identical time, plus producers and brokers. You even have a fan group attending the occasion, who can reside out their desires, see automobiles and folks which can convey again valuable reminiscences. Retromobile is a celebration of all issues automotive, together with however not restricted to, motorsport. And it’s a place the place you may reside and share your ardour for automobiles of all kinds.”
The selection of New York, somewhat than the West Coast or Miami was based mostly on a lot of elements, with logistics being a key driver. “But additionally as a result of round New York you have already got an enormous group of automotive collectors and brokers,” says Neveu.
“For the inaugural present we’re searching for 200-250 exhibitors (with greater than 80% coming from the USA) and 50,000 to 60,000 guests.
“The partnership with Gooding Christie’s is nice for the occasion as a result of, with the mixture of experience from Gooding and the status of Christie’s, we’ve got each purpose to hope for a spectacular basic automotive public sale.
The New York occasion has so much to reside as much as. Retromobile Paris final yr attracted 146,000 guests, of whom 19% had been from outdoors France and 600 exhibitors with public sale gross sales of over $125 million.
“I’m making an attempt to convey my expertise of managing large automotive occasions and ensure we will provide an important and distinctive expertise to our guests and members,” says Neveu.
“The large problem dealing with us shall be to realize the heights of the celebrated Retromobile Paris. The fiftieth anniversary of Retromobile subsequent yr is the right alternative to export the idea of this unique occasion elsewhere for the very first time and we’ll do our greatest to ship an occasion in New York with the identical DNA as Paris at its core however with the colourful American colours working proper by it.”