Intel Executive With Industry’s Toughest Job Plots Comeback (2)

Intel Corp. executive Sandra Rivera has what once would have been the most coveted job in the semiconductor industry: head of the company’s hugely lucrative data center division. Nowadays, it’s the toughest.

Rivera, who has been at Intel for more than 20 years, became general manager of the unit 14 months ago -- shortly after Pat Gelsinger returned to the company as chief executive officer. The business had clearly been losing market share and its technological edge, but Rivera said she underestimated how big of a turnaround job her new role would be.

“Of course, I knew that we had ...