IANA Honoring Farmer for Intermodal Achievement

Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
BNSF President and Chief Executive Officer Katie M. Farmer (BNSF Photograph)

BNSF President and Chief Executive Officer Katie M. Farmer (BNSF Photograph)

The Intermodal Association of North America (IANA) will present BNSF President and CEO Katie Farmer with its 2023 Silver Kingpin Award at the Intermodal EXPO, to be held Sept. 11-13 in Long Beach, Calif.

The Silver Kingpin Award honors “an individual’s long-term contributions to intermodalism,” according IANA. It was established in 1977 by the National Piggyback Association.

Farmer, who was named Railway Age’s 2023 Railroader of the Year, became the first female chief executive of a Class I railroad in January 2021 upon taking over BNSF leadership from the retiring Carl R. Ice. She has been with the railroad for more than 30 years, previously serving as Executive Vice President Operations since September 2018, where she oversaw the entire Operations organization. She also served as Group Vice President running the Intermodal and Automotive business, and held positions in finance, customer service, sales and marketing. Farmer began her career with BNSF predecessor Burlington Northern in 1992 as a management trainee in Fort Worth, Tex., following an internship in the Engineering department between her junior and senior years at Texas Christian University.

“Katie’s career exemplifies what the Silver Kingpin Award is about—an individual’s significant impact on the intermodal freight transportation industry,” IANA President and CEO Joni Casey said. “Her professional accomplishments—which include her 2015 and 2016 terms as the first woman Chair of IANA—are inspirations for the next generation of intermodal professionals.”

In addition to Farmer’s IANA Board service, she is the former President of the National Freight Transportation Association. She also currently serves on Texas Christian University’s Board of Trustees and Executive Committee, along with the Southwest Region Board of the American Heart Association.

Tiger Cool Express Chief Strategy Officer and Co-founder Ted Prince received the association’s Silver Kingpin Award in 2022.

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