WHO WE ARE

David and Janet Polak are two of our most distinguished philanthropists. Married for 53 years, together they celebrate life, cherish family and friends, and are role models in our community.

David Polak is founder and former chairman and chief investment officer of NWQ Investment Management Company. He and his wife, Janet—a community leader and former schoolteacher- have dedicated much of their lives to charitable giving. Through the David and Janet Polak Foundation, they have leveraged their success in the financial sector to extraordinary effect, catalyzing high-impact, sustainable change locally, nationally and abroad. 

Central to David’s accomplishments has been his ability to identify major trends early in their development. David and Janet apply the same talent and approach to their philanthropy, looking for opportunities that are ripe for development and investing strategically to achieve the desired outcome. 

The Polaks’ charitable work has played a transformative role in sustaining a wide range of institutions. With significant leadership gifts, they funded the David and Janet Polak Foundation Stem Cell Core Laboratory at Cedars- Sinai’s Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute and the Polak Family Memory Care Building at the Los Angeles Jewish Home. They also established the David and Janet Polak Center for Cancer Research and Vascular Biology, led by Aaron Ciechanover, on the Haifa campus of Technion- Israel Institute of Technology. The Polaks’ support of Dr. Ciechanover’s research is a prime example of their emphasis on recognizing crucial investment opportunities: Dr. Ciechanover was honored with the Janet and David Polak Professor of Life Sciences— an endowed chair—in 1996; just eight years later, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in chemistry. 

Nurturing a legacy of community support, the Polaks have imbued their children and grandchildren with an enduring ethic of civic responsibility. In close partnership, they continue to scale the foundation’s vital work—increasing its reach and effectiveness for the benefit of future generations.