Dark Matter names Salvatore Piccola and Gil Valera to product strategy, professional services leadership roles

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- Veteran mortgage and enterprise technology leaders will help advance product strategy and strengthen how customers adopt and use Dark Matter technology -

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., Sept. 3, 2026 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — Dark Matter Technologies (Dark Matter), an innovative leader in mortgage technology, today announced it has expanded its leadership team with two experienced executives: Salvatore Piccola as senior vice president of product strategy and Gil Valera as vice president of professional services. The additions strengthen two areas central to Dark Matter’s growth strategy: innovation focused on using AI to improve customer experience, help lenders realize efficiencies, and drive seamless implementation and adoption of its product capabilities.

Piccola will lead product strategy, direction and long-term evolution across the Empower® Loan Origination Solution, the built-in Point of Sale (POS) experience in Empower and the Exchange℠ Partner Marketplace. Valera will lead Dark Matter’s professional services and consulting organization, with responsibility for helping customers implement, adopt and realize value from the company’s technology. Both roles will report to CPO Stephanie Durflinger.

“Automation and AI are changing the game for our industry,” said Dark Matter CEO Vikas Rao. “The future is helping AI agents work in conjunction with humans, enabling paradigm shifts in the mortgage lending process. 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. Adding both of them makes us stronger where it matters: what we build and how customers put it to work.”

Piccola joins Dark Matter after nearly 24 years with PNC, where he most recently served as senior vice president and director of business innovation validation for home lending. During his tenure, he held leadership roles spanning mortgage operations, loan closing, business systems analysis, technology and business innovation, giving him experience across both the operational and technology sides of lending. Piccola holds an MBA in finance from Waynesburg University and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Pittsburgh.

Valera brings more than 20 years of professional services leadership across mortgage technology, enterprise analytics, customer relationship management and consulting. He spent 13 years at ICE Mortgage Technology, where he served as vice president of professional services and led presales, consulting, training and customer success functions for enterprise mortgage customers. Before joining ICE, Valera held professional services and consulting leadership positions at Infor, MicroStrategy and SAP BusinessObjects, among others. He began his career at Ernst & Young.

ABOUT DARK MATTER TECHNOLOGIES:

Operating with the nimble nature of a startup and the disciplined maturity of one of the industry’s leading providers, Dark Matter Technologies delivers powerful technology with unparalleled automation and relentless innovation to leading mortgage lenders, servicers and companies nationwide. For more information, visit https://dmatter.com/.

NEWS SOURCE: Dark Matter Technologies

Keywords: Finance, Dark Matter Technologies, Loan Origination Solution, names Salvatore Piccola, Gil Valera, product strategy, professional services leadership, JACKSONVILLE, Fla.

This press release was issued on behalf of the news source (Dark Matter Technologies) who is solely responsible for its accuracy, by Send2Press® Newswire. Information is believed accurate but not guaranteed. Story ID: S2P137928 APDF15TBLLI

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