Kanlaya Jintanakul grew up in rural Thailand. Her first experiences with agriculture were planting rice by hand with water buffalo leading the plow. She made her way through school, eventually earning a bachelor’s degree at Thammasat University where she graduated magna cum laude in economics.
Kanlaya’s Master’s thesis analyzed why rural Iowans decide to bypass their local hospital for treatment. She published that paper, and went on to publish a chapter from her dissertation on U.S. and Brazilian farm acreage responses to commodity price movements. She also met her husband, Barrett Barr, another graduate of our department. Kanlaya and Barrett worked together for John Deere for many years until he moved to Syngenta and then to British Petroleum where he serves as Strategy and Mergers and Acquisitions Leader. Together, they have raised three boys.
Kanlaya Barr has worked her way up the corporate ladder at John Deere where she now serves as Chief Economist. She now leads a team of economists responsible for market analysis and forecasting for John Deere’s global business. She has been heavily engaged as a speaker and economic expert to businesses, government, and the Federal Reserve System. She and Barrett have come back to Ames to meet with our Economics Club to discuss the role of economists at John Deere and the challenges of combining career and family. They have served as wonderful role models for our students.