Katie Farmer
President and Chief Executive Officer; BNSF Railway
Katie Farmer was named President and Chief Executive Officer effective January 1, 2021; she also leads BNSF’s Board of Directors. Katie has been with BNSF for 29 years, most recently serving as executive vice president and Chief Operations Officer since September 2018, overseeing the entire Operations organization. In that role, Katie led the team responsible for operation of trains and maintenance of track, structures and rolling stock, as well as sourcing, safety and training.
Prior to serving as executive vice president and Chief Operations Officer, Katie served as vice president, Service Design and Transportation Support since July 2017. In this role, she was responsible for the scheduling of railroad operations to meet customer expectations and optimize use of the BNSF network, and leading the service design functions for the Agricultural, Industrial, Consumer Products and Coal business units in addition to Capacity Planning, Joint Facilities, Shortline Development and Passenger Operations.
Katie began her career in the railroad industry with the Burlington Northern in 1992 as a management trainee in Fort Worth, Texas. Katie has held a variety of positions in sales and marketing in the Chemical, Plastic and Minerals business units. She has also held positions in finance, customer solutions and network operations. In 1998, after a field sales position in Houston, Texas, she returned to Fort Worth as director, Plastics Marketing. In 2001, she was appointed to general director, Chemical Products Sales. In 2002, she was promoted to the position of assistant vice president, Carload Equipment, supporting the Carload, Agricultural Products and Coal business units. In December 2005, she was named vice president sales, Industrial Products, and in June 2010 was appointed vice president, Domestic Intermodal. Beginning in January 2013, she served as group vice president, Consumer Products.
Education
Bachelor of Business Administration, Texas Christian University
Master of Business Administration, Texas Christian University
Affiliations/Community Involvement
Board of Trustees, Executive Committee, Texas Christian University
Past Chair, Intermodal Association of North America (IANA)
Past President, National Freight Transportation Association (NFTA)
Board of Directors, Executive Committee, Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra
Sustainer, Junior League of Fort Worth and National Charity League
Member, Jewel Charity, benefiting Cook Children’s Hospital
Personal
Katie and her husband, Jeff, live in Fort Worth, Texas, with their son and daughter.
BNSF
BNSF Railway is one of North America’s leading freight transportation companies operating on 32,500 route miles of track in
28 states, and also operates in three Canadian provinces. BNSF is one of the top transporters of consumer goods, grain and agricultural products, low-sulfur coal, and industrial goods such as petroleum, chemicals, housing materials, food and beverages. BNSF’s shipments help feed, clothe, supply, and power American homes and businesses every day. BNSF and its employees have developed one of the most technologically advanced and efficient railroads in the industry. We work continuously to improve the value of the safety, service, energy, and environmental benefits we provide to our customers and the communities we serve.