TurboChef, CookTek Appoint 2 Leaders

Middleby brands TurboChef and CookTek have promoted Katie Cox to president and Leslie Banados to senior vice president of sales and marketing.

In her new role, Cox will be responsible for the strategic direction of TurboChef and CookTek and will oversee all brand operations, including engineering, manufacturing and accounting. Banados will lead all sales and marketing activities as well as the culinary support for both brands.

Previously, Cox was vice president of business development, where she worked closely with several of Middleby’s large international chain customers to develop their kitchen solutions to best support future operations. Prior to joining Middleby in 2021, Cox was with Appliance Innovation and Hatco, working with Ovention accelerated cooking. Earlier in her career, she was an equipment engineer with Pizza Hut U.S.

Banados rejoined Middleby in 2022 as vice president of business development, where she was responsible for aggressive growth chain accounts across all Middleby brands. She first joined TurboChef in 2004 where she spent 12 years in marketing and sales positions. Prior to returning to Middleby, Banados spent six years at Alto-Shaam as vice president of national accounts.