BNSF on June 3 reported several key leadership changes, which will take effect Sept. 1. After more than 36 years of service, Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer Steve Bobb will retire in August and be succeeded by Tom Williams, who is currently Group Vice President, Consumer Products. Additionally, Matt Garland has been elevated to the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Transportation and Service Design; and Katie Hower and Farah Lawler have transitioned to Vice President, Service Design and Network Strategy, and to Vice President, Domestic Intermodal Marketing, respectively. Jon Gabriel, currently Vice President, Service Design and Network Strategies, will replace Tom Williams as Group Vice President, Consumer Products.
Steve Bobb joined BNSF in 1987 and held various positions in information systems, business analysis, planning and marketing. Additionally, he led several business units, including Minerals, Chemicals, Agricultural Products, and Coal, before becoming Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer in 2013. In that role, Bobb was responsible for leading BNSF’s sales, marketing, customer service and economic development teams. He also served as a general manager in Operations from 2005-08.
“Steve has been a key leader and contributor to BNSF’s success for more than three decades,” BNSF President and CEO Katie Farmer said. “He has built strong relationships with our customers and communities and fostered a culture of innovation and excellence in our Marketing organization. We thank him for his passion and dedication and wish him and his family all the best in his retirement.”
Tom Williams joined the former Santa Fe Railway Company in 1993 and served in various intermodal, automotive and industrial products marketing positions. He was also Assistant Vice President, Intermodal/Automotive Operations in the Service Design and Performance group at BNSF. Williams was promoted to Vice President, Industrial Products Sales in 2014, and to Vice President, Industrial Products in 2016, responsible for marketing and sales of chemicals, plastics and petroleum products. He took on the role of Group Vice president, Consumer Products in 2017, overseeing the intermodal and automotive business units. In his new role as Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Williams will assume responsibility for BNSF’s sales and marketing activities, customer service, and economic development.
“Having an experienced leader like Tom take the reins of our Marketing team and strategy will prove invaluable as we continue to evolve, innovate and deliver industry-leading service,” Farmer said. “Tom’s deep background in intermodal, carload and operations will position BNSF for long-term success.”
Jon Gabriel in 2006 began his career at BNSF in Consumer Products and then held several positions in Service Design. He moved to Transportation in 2012, where he served in leadership roles of increasing responsibility, including General Manager of the Montana and Northwest divisions and later as General Superintendent of BNSF’s Network Operations Center in Fort Worth, Tex. Prior to his most recent role of Vice President, Service Design and Network Strategies, Gabriel was Vice president, South Region.
Matt Garland, who has most recently served as Vice President, Transportation, will assume oversight for all BNSF Transportation operations, Service Design and Network Strategies in the new senior leadership role of Senior Vice President, Transportation and Service Design. He joined BNSF in 2001 as a management trainee and was soon promoted to trainmaster; he would later serve in various Transportation leadership roles with increasing responsibility. Garland in 2015 was elevated to General Manager for the Kansas Division, and in 2018 moved back to Fort Worth to become General Superintendent for BNSF’s Network Operations Center. He would later become Vice President, South Region, prior to being promoted to his most recent role.
“Change across our industry and the markets we serve is happening faster than ever before,” BNSF Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer Matt Igoe said. “I believe combining our Transportation and Service Design teams under Matt’s leadership will provide added agility in our planning, strategy, and decision-making to meet the needs of both current and future customers.”
Katie Hower has been appointed Vice President, Service Design and Network Strategy, responsible for BNSF’s business unit operations, in addition to the company’s capital planning, operations research, and intermodal innovation. She has most recently served as Vice President, Domestic Intermodal Marketing. Hower began working at BNSF in 2006 as a Marketing management trainee. Throughout her career at the Class I, she has held several marketing and sales roles in Consumer Products, Industrial Products, and Agriculture Products. Hower also spent time in Transportation with responsibility for the Intermodal and Automotive Facilities and Network Operations. She was elevated in 2020 to Assistant Vice President, Petroleum, Industrial Products. Prior to her most recent role, Hower was Vice President, Industrial Products, responsible for Energy and Coal.
Farah Lawler, a Railway Age Women in Rail honoree in 2021, has been named Vice President, Domestic Intermodal Marketing, with responsibility for marketing, sales, pricing, and strategic initiatives supporting BNSF’s domestic intermodal business. She has most recently served as Vice President, Industrial Products. Lawler began her BNSF career in 2006 as a Marketing management trainee and held several marketing and sales roles in Consumer Products, Industrial Products, and Agriculture Products. She was promoted in 2020 to Assistant Vice President, Petroleum, Industrial Products. She was later named Assistant Vice President, Industrial Products before being elevated to her most recent position leading the Industrial Products Energy and Coal team.
BSNF reported that as part of this transition, the railroad’s Crude Oil and Coal teams will join the new Agriculture and Energy Products Business Unit.
