Dark Matter Adds Two Executives To Product, Professional Services Teams

Dark Matter Technologies has appointed Salvatore Piccola senior vice president of product strategy and Gil Valera vice president of professional services.

Piccola will guide the strategy and long-term development of Dark Matter’s Empower Loan Origination Solution, its built-in point-of-sale experience, and the Exchange Partner Marketplace.

Valera will lead the mortgage technology company’s professional services and consulting organization. His responsibilities include helping lenders implement, adopt, and realize value from Dark Matter’s products.

Both executives will report to Chief Product Officer Stephanie Durflinger.

“Automation and AI are changing the game for our industry,” CEO Vikas Rao said. “Sal brings the lender and product perspective to help us build toward that future, while Gil brings decades of experience making sure complex technology is adopted successfully and delivers value in the real world.”

Piccola joins Dark Matter after nearly 24 years at PNC. He most recently served as senior vice president and director of business innovation validation for home lending. His previous responsibilities spanned mortgage operations, loan closing, business systems analysis, technology, and business innovation.

Valera has more than 20 years of experience leading professional services operations across mortgage technology, enterprise analytics, customer relationship management, and consulting.

He previously spent 13 years at ICE Mortgage Technology, where he served as vice president of professional services. In that role, he led presales, consulting, training, and customer success functions serving enterprise mortgage clients.

Valera also held professional services and consulting leadership positions at Infor, MicroStrategy, and SAP BusinessObjects. He began his career at Ernst & Young.