A family man, he is survived by his wife, Jean, his sons Michael and Brad, his stepson Adam, and his grandchildren Jenna, Max, Noah and Natasha.
Finkelstein earned a B.S. in economics from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and obtained his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Finkelstein got his start in 1966, when he joined Glemby International, a Finkelstein family-owned operator of department store-based beauty salons. In 1981, he joined Seligman & Latz and later held senior positions at Turner Hall Corporation and Revlon. In 1987, he joined Regis Corporation as COO, becoming CEO in 1996. Under his leadership, Regis grew from 659 salons with $172 million in sales to more than 13,000 salons and $2.4 billion in sales in 2012, when Finkelstein retired.
Finkelstein served on The New York Stock Exchange advisory board for many years. He was an active member of the Chief Executives Organization and the Young Presidents Organization, serving for two years as chair of the New York Metro chapter. In 2011, he was elected to the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame in 2011. And most recently, Finkelstein received the 2017 Legend Award from The International Salon/Spa Business Network.
He was known for having a great sense of humor, a great love of travel, history, biography, fine art, tennis and golf—and most of all, his dedication to his family and friends.
He will be missed by many in the industry.
A celebration of his life will be held at 4:00 P.M. on October 1, 2017 at the B’nai Torah Synagogue in Boca Raton, Florida.