On Jan. 1, 2021, Katie Farmer will become the first female chief executive of a Class I railroad, BNSF. Farmer knows BNSF inside and out. She’s held leadership positions in every major
For the first time in the nearly 200-year-old history of North American railroading, a woman has been named chief executive of a Class I railroad. On Jan. 1, 2021, BNSF Executive Vice President Operations Kathryn M. “Katie” Farmer will succeed Carl R. Ice as President and Chief Executive Officer. She will also assume leadership of BNSF’s Board of Directors. Ice will retire at the end of 2020 and remain on the company’s board.
