Kathryn M. "Katie" Thompson Farmer (born 1970) is an American railroad executive. In January 2021, she became the first woman chief executive of a

Class I railroad Railroad classes are the system by which Rail freight transport, freight railroads are designated in the United States. Railroads are assigned to Class I, II or III according to annual revenue criteria originally set by the Surface Transportatio ...

succeeding Carl Ice at

BNSF Railway BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three Transcontinental railroad, transcontine ...

Biography

Kathryn M. Farmer graduated from Texas Christian University with a Bachelor of Business Administration and an MBA in Finance. Farmer joined

Burlington Northern Railroad The Burlington Northern Railroad was a United States–based railroad company formed from a merger of four major U.S. railroads. Burlington Northern operated between 1970 and 1995. Its historical lineage begins in the earliest days of railroad ...

in 1992 as a management trainee. She has spent her entire career at BNSF (Burlington Northern merged with Santa Fe in 1996 to become

BNSF BNSF Railway is the largest freight railroad in the United States. One of six North American Class I railroads, BNSF has 36,000 employees, of track in 28 states, and over 8,000 locomotives. It has three transcontinental routes that provide ...

and became wholly owned by

Berkshire Hathaway Berkshire Hathaway Inc. () is an American multinational conglomerate holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. Originally a textile manufacturer, the company transitioned into a conglomerate starting in 1965 under the management of c ...

in 2010), holding positions in operations, marketing and finance. Farmer was appointed Executive Vice President Operations in September 2018. In September 2020, BNSF announced that she would succeed Carl Ice as President and Chief Executive Officer, and also lead BNSF's Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2021. The appointment made her the first woman to lead a major railway operator in North America. Matt Igoe took over her vacated role of Executive Vice President Operations. Farmer's appointment as CEO coincided with BNSF's milestone anniversary, marking the company's evolution since its formation in 1995 through mergers and acquisitions. Upon her appointment as chief executive, investor Warren Buffett publicly expressed confidence in Farmer's leadership abilities. Farmer is a member of the Board of Trustees of Texas Christian University. Farmer was named Railway Age's 2023 Railroader of the Year. In giving the award, the magazine pointed to how Farmer "took the throttle of North America’s largest railroad, in terms of both route-miles and revenue, during unprecedented times, in the midst of a global pandemic."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Farmer, Kathryn Texas Christian University alumni Living people BNSF Railway people 21st-century American railroad executives 1970 births 21st-century American businesswomen