If you’ve spent any time looking at the roster of heavy hitters in New York's private credit scene, you’ve likely stumbled across the name Erin Andrew. She is a Senior Managing Director at Turning Rock Partners (TRP), but honestly, calling her just another finance executive misses the mark completely.
Most people in private equity come from a very specific, almost cookie-cutter background. They do the analyst stint at a bulge bracket bank, move to a mega-fund, and basically stay in that ecosystem forever. Erin Andrew is different. Her career path looks less like a straight line and more like a deliberate collection of high-stakes roles across the federal government, specialized banking, and now, structured private credit.
When Turning Rock Partners brought her on board in March 2022, it wasn't just to fill a seat. It was a strategic move to lean into her unique ability to navigate the messy, often underserved "lower-middle market."
Who is Erin Andrew, and why should you care?
Basically, she’s the person who understands the plumbing of American small business better than almost anyone else in the room. Before she was hunting for deals at TRP, she was at Live Oak Bank. While there, she served as a Managing Director and Senior Vice President. If you aren't familiar with Live Oak, they’re one of the top SBA lenders in the country.
She didn't just "work" there. She launched their Advisory Services. She helped small businesses figure out how to scale and, eventually, how to sell.
But it goes deeper.
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Before the private sector called, Erin was in the thick of it at the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA). We are talking about a presidential appointee who served as an Associate Administrator for Capital Access. That’s a fancy way of saying she oversaw a $100 billion loan program. When the government needed someone to figure out how to get money into the hands of entrepreneurs, she was the one holding the keys.
What she's actually doing at Turning Rock Partners
At TRP, she’s a core member of the investment team. Her day-to-day isn't just staring at spreadsheets, though there's plenty of that. She’s focused on:
- Origination: Finding the deals that other firms miss because they’re too small or "too complicated."
- Underwriting: Digging into the guts of a company to see if they’re actually a good bet.
- Deal Execution: Closing the loop and getting the capital where it needs to go.
There's this specific deal that happened recently—the exit of MedShift. Erin was vocal about this one. Turning Rock put $45 million into this medical technology software provider back in 2023. By late 2024, they successfully exited when the company moved to long-term institutional debt.
That’s the "Turning Rock" model in a nutshell: providing transitional capital. They aren't there to own the company forever. They’re the bridge. Erin Andrew is often the one building that bridge.
The Kauffman Fellow connection
You might see "Kauffman Fellow" (Class 20) on her bio and wonder what that even means. It’s a big deal in the venture and private equity world. It’s a highly selective program focused on leadership and innovation in capital markets. It shows she isn't just about the numbers; she’s about the ecosystem of how businesses grow.
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Why her "SBA Brain" matters in Private Credit
Private credit is exploding right now. Everyone wants a piece of it. But most funds are fighting over the same massive deals.
Erin Andrew brings a different lens. Having run women’s business ownership programs at the SBA and worked at the National Governors Association, she sees the "underserved" markets as a massive opportunity, not a charity project. She’s been very open about the fact that women-owned businesses are often undercapitalized—not because they aren't profitable, but because the networks just aren't there.
At Turning Rock, she can actually do something about that. She’s looking for those founder-led companies in North America that are "capital constrained."
Let's talk about the Carnegie Mellon roots
She isn't just a policy person; she’s a math person too. She holds a BS in Business Administration and an MS in Public Policy and Management from Carnegie Mellon University. If you know CMU, you know they don't hand those out easily. It’s a school built on rigorous analysis.
She also has a Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. It sounds dry, but in the world of M&A, where deals fall apart because someone forgot to check a box or manage a timeline, that discipline is everything.
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A quick reality check on the "Two Erin Andrews"
Small side note because the internet is a confusing place: if you’re Googling her, don't get her confused with the Fox Sports reporter. This Erin Andrew (no 's' at the end of the first name, usually) is the one managing millions of dollars in New York, not standing on a sideline.
What most people get wrong about her role
People think private credit is just "being a bank." It’s not.
Banks have strict, often rigid boxes. If you don't fit the box, you don't get the loan.
As a Senior Managing Director at Turning Rock Partners, Erin is looking for the "bespoke" solution. Sometimes it’s debt. Sometimes it’s equity. Sometimes it’s a weird hybrid of both.
She has a reputation for being "risk-realistic." She’s seen enough government data to know what a failing business looks like, but she’s also seen enough success stories at Live Oak to know when a founder just needs a bit of room to breathe.
Actionable Insights for Founders and Investors
If you’re looking at Erin Andrew's career as a roadmap for your own business or investment strategy, here is what you should take away:
- Niches are riches: Her focus on the lower-middle market and underserved founders is a competitive advantage. Don't try to compete with the giants; find the gap they’re ignoring.
- Policy is a superpower: Understanding how the SBA and federal regulations work gives you an edge in underwriting that a pure "finance guy" won't have.
- The "Bridge" Strategy works: If you’re a founder, you don't always need a permanent partner. You might just need transitional capital to get to the next level of institutional funding.
- Network Diversity: Erin’s involvement with the Kauffman Fellows and her work with women entrepreneurs proves that your network shouldn't just be people who look and think like you.
Whether she's speaking at an iiBIG healthcare conference or restructuring a loan for a tech firm, Erin Andrew is proving that the most effective way to win in finance is to bring a bit of "real world" experience to the ivory tower of Wall Street.