Tina Machado

Tina Marie Machado, formerly Placourakis, (born 1960) is an Arizona businesswoman, former model, actress, karate champion, and Miss Hawaii USA.

Hawaii

Tina Marie Machado was born in Hawaii in 1960, one of four children of Marie and Harold Machado, a military family. Harold served multiple tours in Korea and Vietnam, earning a Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Silver Star. Marie moved where the Army told them, and often raised the family alone.[1][2]

Tina Machado graduated Waipahu High School, then earned a Bachelor's degree in International business from the University of Washington in 1980.[2][3] She worked as a model, and had multiple minor acting roles in the television series Hawaiian Heat, Magnum, P.I., and the film Aloha Summer (1988).[2][4][5]

Machado was crowned Miss Hawaii USA in February 1985. She lost the title less than a week later, when pageant officials said that at 25 she was too old, and was directed to step down in favor of Toni Leimomi Costa, 18, her runner-up. Machado had already given up her job at the Honolulu Board of Realtors because of needing to devote time for the contest.[6] Machado sued for $5 million for breach of contract,[7] and was restored to the title in April.[8] She competed in the Miss USA 1985 pageant in Lakeland, Florida, in May as Miss Hawaii USA and was a semi-finalist in the nationally televised pageant (won by Laura Martinez Harring of Texas).[9] Toni Costa competed again next year and won Miss Hawaii USA 1986.[10]

In 1987, Machado married Hawaii restaurateur Aaron Placourakis, taking his last name.[11] His brother, Yanni Placourakis, also a restaurateur, subsequently married Pamela Kimura, Miss Hawaii 1992.[12] Tina and Aaron Placourakis had three children together, and regularly appeared in Hawaii society columns.[13] Their son Jesse won three gold medals in national karate competition at age 7, and a title at the All-Japan Junior Championships at the age of 8, in 1999.[14] Tina Placourakis followed her son to karate lessons, earning a black belt, and also winning multiple medals in national karate.[15][16]

Arizona

In 2000, Tina Placourakis left Hawaii to live in Arizona with former major league baseball player Charles "Chili" Davis, taking the three children, and getting an amicable divorce.[17] In 2002, Placourakis and Davis bought a house in North Scottsdale, Arizona, that she would later remodel and have featured in Phoenix Home & Garden magazine.[18][19] In 2003, Tina Placourakis filed civil suit against Davis, for assault, battery, and money spent on the house. She testified about physical and mental abuse, and played a tape recorded phone conversation of him saying "Tina, you deserved to get hit". The jury awarded her $350,000 in damages.[18][20]

In 2006, Placourakis appeared as "The Divorced Mom", on the CBS reality television program Tuesday Night Book Club, where she was described as a former beauty queen and karate champion, the oldest of seven Scottsdale, Arizona women who gathered to discuss their lives and relationships. The show was pulled after two episodes out of its scheduled eight due to poor ratings.[21][22][23]

In 2007, Tina Marie Placourakis was working for the Sherman Oaks, California-based Diversified Lending Group, when it bought Phoenix, Arizona-based private label water bottling company, Sun West Bottlers, LLC, as a subsidiary, and appointed her president and chief operating officer. She oversaw an expansion of the company, buying a local competitor, and had plans to expand even further, out of state.[24] In 2009, the Securities and Exchange Commission charged Diversified Lending Group, and its head, Bruce Fred Friedman, with operating a $216 million Ponzi scheme. Placourakis was named as a relief defendant (not accused of wrongdoing), and asked to return $275,000 Friedman had given her.[25][26] Placourakis said Sun West would not be affected.[27] In 2010, Sun West Bottlers was acquired by NutriPure Beverages, Inc.[28]

After Sun West, Tina Machado (returning to her maiden name), worked with Gerald Schwalbach of Spensa Development Group. They co-founded Rarity Investments in 2012, which funds new and emerging technology companies. Then, in 2013, they launched CodeRed-I, a mobile application development studio, with Machado as CEO.[2][3][29][30][31] Her latest project is Bridge the Gap Strategy, a business consulting company. In 2015, Machado was listed among the most influential women in Arizona business by Arizona Business Magazine.[32]

Family

Machado's son, Jesse Placourakis, works with her at Rarity and CodeRed-I. Daughter Lexi Placourakis is a noted plus-size model, and has a son with Dallas Cowboys football player Tyron Smith.[33][34]

References
  1. "Marie Machado Obituary". Honolulu Star-Advertiser. June 9, 2013. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  2. "Tina Marie Machado Bio" (PDF). CodeRed-I. October 26, 2015. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  3. "Tina Machado". LinkedIn. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  4. Terrace, Vincent (2008-11-06). "3869 Hawaiian Heat". Encyclopedia of Television Shows, 1925 through 2010, 2d ed. McFarland. pp. 441–. ISBN 9780786486410. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  5. Tina Machado at IMDb
  6. "Miss Hawaii USA Stripped of Crown; at 25, She's Too Old". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 27 February 1985. Retrieved 13 September 2016. Slightly longer form as "Miss Hawaii Loses Her Title, Too Old At 25, Officials Say". Associated Press. February 27, 1985. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  7. Associated Press (March 1, 1985). "Beauty Queen Sues to Regain Title". Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  8. Associated Press (Apr 13, 1985). "A Queen Restored". The Dispatch. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  9. United Press International (14 May 1985). "Texas resident chosen Miss USA". The Daily Sentinel. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
  10. "Miss Hawaii USA Former Winners Honolulu, HI Pageant". Miss Hawaii USA. Retrieved 16 September 2016.
  11. Donnelly, Dave (August 26, 2001). "The Week That Was". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 1 September 2016.
  12. Donnelly, Dave (September 8, 1998). "Soccer moms find connection". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  13. Donnelly, Dave. "Seaside party this weekend". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  14. Ohira, Rod (January 17, 2000). "The karate kid". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  15. Donnelly, Dave (November 28, 1997). "She's up to Herculean task". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  16. Donnelly, Dave (July 7, 1998). "Pak'ing pizazz into the LPGA Open". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  17. Donnelly, Dave (June 14, 2000). "Placourakis union unravels". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  18. Trujillo, Richard J.; Ryan, Timothy J. (September 21, 2010). "Placourakis v. Davis :: 2010". Arizona Case Law. Arizona Court of Appeals. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  19. Landman, Roberta (July 2015). "Past Reimagined to Perfection". Phoenix Home & Garden. p. 88. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  20. Kiefer, Michael (7 January 2007). "Violence finds ugly place in sports". Arizona Republic. p. 27. Retrieved 30 August 2016. Alt URL
  21. "CBS announces the women of "Tuesday Night Book Club"". CBS Press Express. May 24, 2006. Retrieved 14 September 2016.
  22. "Tina (The Divorced Mom)". CBS.com. Archived from the original on 22 November 2010.
  23. Hogan, Shanna (June 14, 2006). "Travails of E.V. women spotlighted in new series". East Valley Tribune. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  24. O'Grady, Patrick (Aug 31, 2008). "Sun West plans to expand its private-label water business". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  25. Greenberg, Brad A. (March 11, 2009). "Friedman, Karatz Criminal Charges Rock L.A. Philanthropic Community". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  26. Brush, Pete (September 29, 2010). "Alleged $228M Real Estate Schemer Arrested In France". Law360. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  27. O'Grady, Patrick (Apr 6, 2009). "Sun West Bottlers not affected by SEC investigation of parent". Phoenix Business Journal. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  28. "NutriPure Beverages, Inc. Submits Formal Offer to Acquire Sun West Bottlers". CNNMoney. September 30, 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  29. Gossie, Michael (June 17, 2015). "Tina Machado becomes a game changer for tech sector". AZ Business Magazine. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  30. Christmann Larson, Amanda (April 1, 2015). "Code Red-I, Casting Bets on The Future of Tech". ImagesAZ. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  31. "Exceptional Executives". So Scottsdale!. Richman Media Group. February 2016. p. 53. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  32. Gossie, Michael (August 20, 2015). "Tina Machado: Most Influential Women in Arizona Business". AZ Business Magazine. Retrieved 30 August 2016.
  33. Parrish, Melinda (February 10, 2016). "WIW2B: Lexi Placourakis". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
  34. Gottesman, Matt (16 March 2016). "Lexi Placourakis - Model, Social Entrepreneur, Advocate". H&DF, Hustle & Deal Flow Magazine. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
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