Ileana Rojas has become the first general manager for Intel, making a name for herself, the company, and Costa Rican talent. She also serves as Manager of Manufacturing Products Engineering, making her appointment historic in that the company in the country is now entirely under Costa Rican leadership.
She has been part of Intel for 22 years, since the company entered the country. She has shown that Costa Ricans can operate with excellence and grow to meet the changing technological needs.
She says she has a team of local leaders who are very capable. Since the company’s arrival in 1997, Rojas has seen a great improvement in the quality of talent. One thing that has been difficult is the speed with which they need to grow with the times to compete with other countries who already have large talent pools of engineers with masters and doctorate degrees.
Her clear strategy for the future of the company includes having workers who are extremely specialized. For instance, those who work in human resources and accounting should get to know about all the branches at a deeper level.
