CEO
Stonebriar Commercial Finance
Nick Sandler steps into the CEO role at Stonebriar with deep experience, strong mentorship and a clear mandate: expand strategically, lead boldly and preserve the culture of disciplined credit investing that has defined the firm for a decade.
Nick Sandler became CEO of Stonebriar in 2024, just as the company underwent a strategic reorganization under Eldridge Industries. It was a move that signaled both continuity and evolution — one that Sandler is uniquely qualified to lead.
“I am still the CEO of Stonebriar, but I’m also the co-president of Eldridge,” Sandler explains. “In that new role, I’m now managing the entire business, not just the asset-based credit side.” This dual leadership reflects how closely integrated the firms have become, with Stonebriar now acting as a critical origination engine within Eldridge’s broader credit platform.
Sandler’s journey into leadership spans nearly two decades of credit investing. He began working at Guggenheim Partners before helping launch Stonebriar in 2015. “We knew there’d be economies of scale. Those economies of scale were significant,” he recalls. “It also was just exceptional timing to start a business like this.”
That timing and the founding team’s foresight led to $15 billion in capital deployed over 10 years. Yet Sandler remains clear-eyed about the road ahead. “I’d like to continue to drive down the cost of capital for asset-based private credit,” he says, noting the increased competition due to bank consolidation and regulatory shifts. “We’re looking to hire within the origination side of the business and are going to be very active.”
Though he’s quick to credit the legacy of his predecessor, Dave Fate, Sandler brings a distinctive leadership style. “I give people a good amount of leeway to be responsible for their actions,” he says. “If we ultimately have to make every decision at the top, we’re never going to be able to grow our AUM.
That autonomy extends to how he sees organizational growth. “We want people in that position to have some level of discretion … and the only way you grow people in that role is to put them into positions of accountability.”
Even as Stonebriar integrates more deeply into Eldridge, Sandler says the culture will remain intact. “The job people had in November is the job they have today. Our credit box remains the same. Our approach to originations remains the same.”
Sandler’s focus is clear: preserve what works, scale what’s proven and build a team that thrives without constant oversight — all while keeping Stonebriar a disciplined leader in the industry. •
“I want to work myself out of a job. The sooner that happens, the better — because that means I’ve built a team that’s ready to lead.”
~ Nick Sandler, CEO, Stonebriar Commercial Finance
Rita E. Garwood is Editor in Chief of Monitor.
