OUR PEOPLE

MINOO MEHTA, CEO

With 38 years of seasoned expertise as a senior executive in the automotive retail and wholesale industries, I bring a wealth of experience in driving business growth and operational excellence.

Throughout my career, I have spearheaded the management and opening of stores and warehouses, excelled in sales and negotiation, and led successful start-ups and brand marketing initiatives.

My track record speaks volumes, with a consistent history of increasing sales and enhancing the bottom line while implementing operational enhancements to boost productivity and streamline costs. I've had the privilege of expanding both statewide and national market presence through strategic initiatives, whether through launching startups or opening new stores, specializing in new tires, custom wheels, and automotive services, and wholesale management.

Here are some core competencies I bring to the table:

  • Purchasing/Vendor Relations: Leveraging strong relationships and negotiation skills to secure optimal deals.
  • Employee Management: Fostering a culture of excellence and motivation among teams.
  • Customer Relations: Prioritizing customer satisfaction and building long-lasting relationships.
  • High-Stakes Negotiations: Thriving in challenging negotiations to achieve favorable outcomes.
  • Budgetary Compliance: Ensuring fiscal responsibility and adherence to financial plans.
  • Strategic Planning: Developing and executing robust strategies to drive business growth.
  • Corporate Infrastructure: Building and optimizing operational frameworks for scalability and efficiency.
  • Financial Management: Exercising prudent financial stewardship to maximize profitability.
  • Risk Assessment: Identifying and mitigating risks to safeguard business interests.
  • Advertising & Marketing: Crafting impactful marketing campaigns to enhance brand visibility.
  • Asset Management: Optimizing resource allocation to maximize returns.
  • Team Motivation: Inspiring and empowering teams to achieve their full potential.

I am passionate about driving success and am committed to delivering results that exceed expectations. I look forward to bringing my expertise to further elevate our company's growth and success.

RICHARD KUSKIN, President
Richard was born in 1948.  He graduated from Stevens Institute of Technology--1972 B.Eng. He was employed by Seoul Trading Corp. 1972-1974; Schwartz & Nagle 1974-1989; Foreign Tire Sales 1978-present. Mr. Kuskin’s grandfather founded Schwartz & Nagle, a retail tire seller, in 1914. Both he and Richard’s father worked at Schwartz & Nagle their entire working lives. Richard started working in the family business when his father became ill and was hospitalized for an extended period in 1974.

Presented with greater potential, Kuskin devoted more of his time to importing tires, first from Korea, then from Thailand and China. Richard has traveled to China and Thailand on numerous occasions and continues to visit the factories several times a year.

LAWRENCE N. LAVIGNE, Vice President and General Counsel
Larry joined FTS following 27 years as a successful trial lawyer where he devoted his practice primarily to products liability defense. Larry has represented a number of major tire, automobile and truck manufacturers. He also has vast experience in commercial transactions, employment litigation, general labor matters, lemon law defense, insurance coverage and commercial litigation. He is certified as a civil trial attorney by the New Jersey Supreme Court. He has assisted clients in preparing warnings, warranties and owner’s manuals for various products. He will continue to utilize this experience for the benefit of FTS and its customers. He will also be involved in sales and product procurement. Larry travels to the orient several times a year to meet with representatives of the various factories.

Larry is a graduate of Franklin & Marshall College-B.A 1979 and Seton Hall University School of Law-J.D. 1982.

GARY EIBER, Vice President, Engineering
Gary has been a tire engineer for more than 40 years.  He earned his B.S. degree from the US Military Academy at West Point and his MBA from Kent State University. Gary worked for Continental General Tire International starting as a tire engineer trainee and worked his way up to Manager, International Product Technology where among other obligations, he was responsible for the global bias truck tire development. He has worked on projects concerning every aspect of tire engineering on products ranging from scooter tires to giant tires. He has worked on tire projects around the world. He has vast design and testing experience which he utilizes in working with the factories FTS buys its tires from. Gary assists the factories on design criteria, performance criteria, construction detail, equipment requirements and testing requirements to ensure that FTS imports only safe, high quality tires.

Even while employed at FTS, Gary was called upon General Motors to assist it in auditing Chinese tire factories. Likewise, he was retained by Tornel Tire (one of the largest Mexican owned tire companies) to assist in radial passenger car and light truck radial tire quality improvement.

Gary travels to the orient several times a year to inspect the factories, to work with their technical staffs and to ensure that proper production and testing methods are used.

ROBERT PELL, Director, New Business Development
Robert brings over 30 years of experience in the tire industry, having worked for Del-Nat Tire Corp and Falken Tire Corporation, among others.  He has extensive experience in sales and business development and brings an in-depth knowledge of the tire industry to FTS. He is customer oriented and has a keen sense of customer needs.

MAUREEN GARDNER, Manager
Maureen has been the manager at FTS since 1992. She supervises in-house staff and negotiates freight and brokerage arrangements. She is in charge of supervising customer service efforts as well as coordinating all transaction documentation. She is also responsible for corresponding with vendors, the sales force, and customers. She has ten years of industrial experience as a chemist in various companies and holds a MBA in Marketing from New York University.

JOHN DELOGE, Sales
John has over 40 years of tire sales experience. He started his career working for Armstrong Tire where he eventually rose to the position of East Coast Regional Manager. After almost 20 years at Armstrong, he moved to Dunlop Tire for the next 19 years where he ended up as the National Sales Manager. John has made a career of servicing the tire Industry through the Independent Tire Dealer. He is veteran of the Vietnam War.

GLADYS VIERA Export Manager Latin America Division
Gladys brings more than 30 years in the field of sales and marketing of tires. She began with International Tire Marketers, Inc., where she opened the Latin American market to this company.

At FTS, Gladys has been instrumental in expanding the Latin American market. Currently, she works with customers in South America, Central America, Mexico, Costa Rica and Puerto Rico.
Gladys holds a Business Degree from the University of Puerto Rico.

Scroll to Top