Katie Farmer, BNSF Railway’s Incoming Chief Executive

On Jan. 1, 2021, Katie Farmer will become the first woman chief
executive of a Class I railroad, BNSF. Farmer knows BNSF inside and
out. She’s held leadership positions in every major function of the
company, starting as a 22-year-old management trainee at
predecessor Burlington Northern in 1992. At BNSF, she will oversee
a 32,500-route-mile network that spans 28 states and three Canadian
provinces for parent company Berkshire Hathaway, Inc., and lead the
Board of Directors. Among Farmer’s priorities: driving productivity
and delivering the kind of service BNSF customers have come to
expect; modeling the way for communication across the railroad and
ensuring that connections continue to be made with all the
constituencies it touches; and supporting employees—some 36,000—so
they, too, can reach their full potential by taking advantage of
the professional development opportunities she was afforded. In
this wide-ranging interview with Railway Age Executive Editor
Marybeth Luczak, Katie Farmer talks about leading the railroad and
its workforce, “the hard-working men and women at BNSF.” Podcast
sponsored by TrinityRail.