Savarese, who was at Morgan Stanley previously, is a big name in the distressed debt world.
He will join Goldman Sachs as a partner, a sign of his seniority. Goldman Sachs rarely makes hires at partner level.
Savarese will work with Tom Tormey, according to the people. Tormey was named partner late last year.
The desk - which trades the debt of companies in financial distress - is a part of the bank's credit trading business.
His appointment follows a tough period for Goldman Sachs in the distressed debt trading space. Bloomberg reported in August that the bank had taken a $50 million to $60 million hit as a result of a series of bad bets.
The team has also seen a number of departures. Jerry Keefe, who had co-headed the desk, left in March to join a hedge fund, while fellow co-head Dennis Lafferty was recently reported to be in talks to join HSBC.
Savarese started at Goldman Sachs in 1999, according to his LinkedIn profile, and joined Morgan Stanley in 2002, according to FINRA records. He was named a managing director at the bank in 2009.
Goldman Sachs declined to comment. Morgan Stanley did not comment in time for publication. Savarese did not return messages seeking comment.