Latest news with #Croll
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
'A global loss': Millions of Texans mourn the death of Pope Francis
SAN JUAN — Regularly scheduled Mass on Monday took on a special meaning following the death of Pope Francis for the dozens of Catholic churchgoers who filled the pews of the Basilica of Our Lady of San Juan del Valle. Catholics in the Rio Grande Valley — regular congregants and less frequent attendees — joined the millions of Texans to mourn Pope Francis who died Monday at the age of 88. Catholics represent the second-largest religious group in the state and, among the faithful, Francis is remembered as a forward-thinking and divisive figure. For the Valley residents who visited the basilica to pay their respects, Francis was a leader of the people and someone who created a more welcoming environment in the Catholic Church. "I think it's a global loss," said Rodrigo Garcia, a 54-year-old man from Brownsville who refers to himself as a progressive Catholic. "Pope Francis was an individual that cared for everyone and was more reformed than most other leaders in our world today," Garcia said. "I'd say he had an open heart, an open mind and was inclusive for all peoples of all practices from all parts of the world." Francis, born Jorge Mario Bergoglio in Argentina, was notable for his focus on caring for the poor and disenfranchised. But some of his stances upset some conservative Catholics, including his criticism of capitalist economic systems and remarks on the LGBTQ community. In 2013, he famously said "Who am I to judge?" In response to questions about a purportedly gay priest. Madeleine Croll, a 44-year-old transgender woman in McAllen, calls herself a Catholic in exile but said that Francis gave her hope that she'd someday feel welcome to celebrate the Mass again as her authentic self. Croll was raised in the Catholic Church. Her mother originally intended to become a nun and, before transitioning, Croll had contemplated taking the holy orders, a sacrament taken to be ordained as a bishop, priest or deacon. She emphasized that she was raised in the Catholic social justice tradition — lifting up the downtrodden — and in Francis she recognized what she felt her faith was supposed to be. "I thought that his humility was inspiring and his concern for the least of us, essentially, was what I always thought should have been the focus," Croll said. While the church's stance on some subjects evolved during Francis' papacy, he maintained traditional views on subjects like abortion and the celibacy requirement for priests. Gov. Greg Abbott praised the late pope's 'quiet strength' and 'servant's heart' in a statement posted on X. 'He was a bold and unwavering voice in defense of life, championing the unborn, the vulnerable, and the marginalized with conviction and compassion,' Abbott said. Because of his focus on the marginalized, Francis represented the teachings of Jesus Christ for Maria Candelaria Palacios, a 75-year-old woman from Las Milpas. He also prompted a change in perspective for her because of his acceptance of people who are divorced and those in the LGBTQ community. "He said he's no one to judge and we're no one to judge our brothers," Palacios said. "And that we're all children of God." Francis, who became pope in 2013, had chronic lung disease and was admitted to the hospital in February for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He had not yet fully recovered when he suffered a stroke on Monday that placed him into a coma and led to heart failure, Vatican officials said. Despite being gone, Garcia expressed optimism that people will carry on Francis' teachings through their everyday actions. "I trust that we've all learned something from him, and we can all somehow contribute to making his life a tribute in our actions, our words, our thoughts," Garcia said. Reporting in the Rio Grande Valley is supported in part by the Methodist Healthcare Ministries of South Texas, Inc. Tickets are on sale now for the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Texas' breakout ideas and politics event happening Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Get tickets before May 1 and save big! TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.
Associated Press
12-02-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Riverbed Appoints Michael Croll as SVP, U.S. Federal Market
REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb 12, 2025-- Riverbed, the leader in AI observability, announced today that the Company appointed Michael Croll to Senior Vice President, U.S. Federal Market. Croll brings extensive experience in sales leadership, particularly in the public sector, where he has a strong track record of driving IT modernization and transformation for government and public sector customers that support their missions. With over 30 years in the industry, Croll has held leadership roles at both growth-stage and public companies, including most recently at Sonatype, where he led the U.S. Federal business to record annual recurring revenue growth. Previously, he served as Vice President of Federal Sales and Operations for Cleversafe and has held key sales and sales leadership roles at EMC, IBM and Data Domain. Croll's strategic leadership will allow Riverbed to expand its presence in the federal market, and his expertise in building high-performance sales organizations will be critical to the Company's long-term success. 'I am thrilled to welcome Michael as Senior Vice President for our Federal market,' said Kris Luhrsen, Chief Revenue Officer at Riverbed. 'This appointment reflects our commitment to further strengthening our leadership team, and the importance of our Public Sector and Federal customers. With Croll's extensive technology and software knowledge, and experience in the Federal market, we are better positioned to deliver innovative solutions, deepen customer relationships, and accelerate growth across this key industry. While many vendors offer a single point product, Riverbed has invested in a broader Platform strategy to meet the needs of enterprises and Government organizations, with a portfolio of leading AIOps, observability and acceleration solutions that enable organizations to optimize digital experiences, improve IT operations and drive measurable results.' 'I'm excited to join Riverbed at such an exciting time, with strong market momentum surrounding Riverbed's AI-powered platform and solutions,' said Michael Croll, Senior Vice President, U.S. Federal Market, at Riverbed. 'I'm eager to help our many government customers who depend on Riverbed to support their missions, enhance digital experiences, and deliver tangible results for their agencies.' Last year Riverbed launched a new AI-powered Platform to optimize digital experiences and improve IT operations, and several new data observability and AIOps solutions. Riverbed was recently recognized in several analyst reports, including: Leader (view report) in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ Digital Employee Experience (DEX) Management Tools; Visionary (view blog) in the 2024 Gartner® Magic Quadrant™ for Digital Experience Monitoring (DEM); Value Leader in 2024 EMA Radar report for Network Operations Observability; Leader in the 2024 GigaOm Radar report for Network Observability; and Outperformer in the 2024 GigaOm Radar report for AIOps. About Riverbed Riverbed, the leader in AI observability, helps organizations optimize their user's experiences by leveraging AI automation for the prevention, identification, and resolution of IT issues. With over 20 years of experience in data collection and AI and machine learning, Riverbed's open and AI-powered observability platform and solutions optimize digital experiences and greatly improves IT efficiency. Riverbed also offers industry-leading Acceleration solutions that provide fast, agile, secure acceleration of any app, over any network, to users anywhere. Together with our thousands of market-leading customers globally – including 95% of the FORTUNE 100 – we are empowering next-generation digital experiences. Learn more at CONTACT: MEDIA CONTACT Esther Burciaga Riverbed Technology [email protected] SOURCE: Riverbed Technology LLC Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 02/12/2025 05:30 AM/DISC: 02/12/2025 05:30 AM
