Donald J. Nunnari and Michael M. Savoy Honored at Los Angeles Professional Services Ball

Event Benefited Leading Respiratory Hospital in the Nation

More than 500 business leaders from across Los Angeles gathered on June 4, to celebrate the personal and professional accomplishments of Donald J. Nunnari of Merchant Factors Corp., and Michael M. Savoy of Gumbiner Savett Inc. The event, which was held at the Skirball Cultural Center, raised over $470,000 for National Jewish Health, the leading respiratory hospital in the nation. The hospital honored Nunnari and Savoy with the prestigious National Jewish Health Humanitarian Award.

Both men have made significant civic and charitable contributions to the community, and are distinguished leaders in their fields. Co-workers, friends and family members spoke about the two honorees in videos shown at the event.

“Don has seen first-hand how asthma, allergies and respiratory problems can affect people day in and day out,” Nunnari’s son, Nick, said. “Visiting National Jewish Health and seeing the research being done by the doctors to find a solution for these problems has been an eye-opener for him. He wishes he’d have done this many years earlier.”

For more than 50 years, the Los Angeles community has been supporting National Jewish Health through events like the Black & White Ball. The funds raised help the hospital continue researching and improving treatments for children and adults with the most difficult cases of respiratory, cardiac, immune and related conditions.

“Research institutions nationwide are facing the most challenging funding environment ever, as budget cuts have reduced funding from the National Institutes of Health and increased competition for grants,” said Rich Schierburg, former chair and current member of the National Jewish Health board of directors. “Despite this, National Jewish Health remains committed to research – nearly a third of the institution’s budget is devoted to its research enterprise. The research taking place at the institution is changing the lives of children and adults in California and worldwide – even if they never go to Denver for care.”

“The doctors at National Jewish Health are world-known. The things they are doing are unbelievable and amazing,” Savoy said. “It is quite an honor, but it’s also a very humbling experience to raise money for National Jewish Health.”

“The funds raised at the ball make it possible for the institution to conduct groundbreaking treatment and research of diseases like COPD, and asthma,” Schierburg said. “And because of the generosity of people across the country, National Jewish Health is able to treat all patients, regardless of their ability to pay.”

While supporting the cause and celebrating the honorees, attendees enjoyed entertainment by Night Shift, a cocktail party sponsored by DML Marketing Group Ltd., and Emcee Christian Kolberg. The event was presented by Gumbiner Savett Inc., Merchant Factors Corp., and the Savoy Family.

Dinner co-chairs were Robert Ezra of Freeman, Freeman & Smiley LLP; Ronald Friedman of Marcum LLP; Robert K. Lewin of CIT Commercial Services; and Debbie Steinberg. Serving as honoree chairs were Valerie Colin of Gumbiner Savett Inc., and William Kernochan of Merchant Factors, Corp. View a full committee list.

For more information about this year’s or next year’s event, please contact Andrea Morseburg at 818.905.1300 or MorseburgA@njhealth.org, or visit lapsdblackandwhiteball.com.

Honoree Bios

Donald Nunnari is executive vice president and West Coast regional manager of Merchant Factors Corp., a Re factor started in New York over 30 years ago. Merchant and its affiliate Merchant Financial provide old-line factoring in the traditional industries and asset-based lending. Nunnari graduated from St. Bonaventure University in Olean, New York, with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance.

Nunnari started the West Coast office of Merchant Factors Corp., in 2004. His responsibilities include the day-to-day management of the company’s full-service office, which includes portfolio management, client relations, sales and marketing, along with development of the next generation of factoring professionals.

He began his factoring career as a collector at United Factors in Downtown Los Angeles. United was the largest old-line factor in the apparel industry. He later developed his career as the wholesale and retail credit manager at the Domerich Division of Chemical Bank, also in Los Angeles, ultimately becoming a client account executive. Prior to starting Merchant in Los Angeles, Nunnari spent 15 years at Republic Factors as a senior business development officer. The last three of those years were with HSBC Business Credit, which acquired Republic Factors.

Nunnari is past president of the Textile Professional Club. He has served on the board of City of Hope fashion group. He is a member of the Commercial Finance Conference of California and the former treasurer on the executive board of the Fashion Business Incubator. He is a guest lecturer on factoring at the Los Angeles campus of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising.
 
 

Michael Savoy is a shareholder at Gumbiner Savett Inc., and was the firm’s managing director from 2006 to 2015. Savoy was born and raised in New York City and graduated from Pace University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1973. He has over 43 years of work experience and his primary emphasis is business-related accounting and tax matters, working with high net-worth individuals and their businesses. He works closely with clients on succession planning and exit strategies, and has been a speaker for the CalCPA Education Foundation on these issues, with an emphasis on employee stock ownership plans.

In December 2010, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed Savoy to the California Board of Accountancy. He was secretary/treasurer in 2012, vice president in 2013 and president in 2014. He was again appointed to the board by Governor Jerry Brown in 2014 and is currently secretary/treasurer. He has played an active role in bringing mobility and mandatory peer review to California, along with being instrumental in changing some of the mandatory continuing education requirements for CPAs.

He is currently the treasurer for the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, where he has been an active member since 2009, serving on its finance committee, executive committee and board.

Savoy is a proud family man who has been married to his wife, Darcy, for almost 26 years, and they have three children, Sloane, 24, Skye, 22, and Benjamin, 17.