Bill McDermott: From a Long Island Deli to ServiceNow CEO
The story of a teenage shop owner who moved through Xerox, Gartner, Siebel Systems and SAP before taking charge of ServiceNow.
Introduction
Bill McDermott has spent decades around sales, software and large global companies. Yet his business story started somewhere much smaller.
A neighborhood deli.
As a teenager on Long Island, he bought the shop where he worked. Years later, he became CEO of SAP. Today, he serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ServiceNow.
That is quite a jump.
Still, one idea links those stages. Customers matter. McDermott has carried that sales-focused thinking through most of his working life.
Quick Facts
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | William R. “Bill” McDermott |
| Profession | Business and technology executive |
| Current role | Chairman and CEO of ServiceNow |
| ServiceNow CEO since | November 2019 |
| ServiceNow Chairman since | October 2022 |
| Former major role | CEO of SAP |
| Joined SAP | 2002 |
| SAP co-CEO | 2010–2014 |
| SAP sole CEO | 2014–2019 |
| Earlier companies | Xerox, Gartner, Siebel Systems |
| Undergraduate education | Dowling College |
| Graduate education | MBA, Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management |
| Other study | Executive Development Program at Wharton |
| Book | Winners Dream: A Journey from Corner Store to Corner Office |
| Current outside boards | Zoom, Figma and Intuit |
ServiceNow and Intuit currently confirm his leadership position, education and board roles.
Early Life and First Business Lessons
Bill McDermott grew up on Long Island, New York.
Business entered his life early.
At 16, he bought the small deli where he had been working. His publisher says he had previously been juggling three hourly jobs before taking control of the shop.
It was a real business.
He had customers to keep. Bills had to be paid. The shop needed steady sales.
Basically, those lessons came early.
McDermott learned that different customers wanted different things. Older people might value delivery. Workers could care about convenience. Younger customers needed another reason to walk inside.
That customer-first mindset stayed with him.
The deli also helped him pay for college. His official publisher later made the corner-store story the starting point of his book Winners Dream.
Education
McDermott studied business at Dowling College.
He later earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. Current Intuit records confirm both degrees.
He also completed the Executive Development Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, according to his official publisher profile.
His education ran beside his work.
That matters here.
Much of his business thinking came from direct selling, customers and management experience rather than classroom study alone.
Building a Career at Xerox
After college, McDermott joined Xerox.
He started in sales.
And he stayed for years.
Simon & Schuster says he spent 17 years at Xerox, rising from sales into senior management. He eventually became Xerox’s youngest corporate officer and a division president.
Sales remained his base.
He had to meet customers, understand what they needed and close deals. Those skills later became important as he moved into enterprise software.
The Xerox years were long.
They also built his reputation.
Rather than jumping quickly between companies, McDermott spent a large part of his early corporate career learning how a major organization sold products, managed teams and handled big accounts.
Moving to Gartner
After Xerox came Gartner.
McDermott served as President of Gartner, where he led the company’s core operations, according to his publisher profile.
The move put him deeper into technology.
It was another step away from office equipment and toward the software and IT business that would define the next part of his career.
Siebel Systems
Next came Siebel Systems.
McDermott worked there as Executive Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Operations.
Again, sales sat near the center.
But the scale had changed.
He was now working inside enterprise software, selling technology to large organizations and handling operations across markets.
That experience led directly toward SAP.
Joining SAP in 2002
McDermott joined SAP in 2002.
At first, his job centered on the company’s American business. His publisher describes him as taking charge of SAP’s struggling U.S. operation and bringing stronger sales discipline and accountability into the business.
The move worked for his career.
His responsibilities kept growing.
SAP was already one of the biggest names in enterprise software. Moving up inside that company put McDermott on a much bigger international stage.
Then came 2010.
Becoming SAP Co-CEO
In February 2010, SAP’s Supervisory Board appointed Bill McDermott and Jim Hagemann Snabe as co-CEOs.
SAP’s own historical records confirm the appointment.
The company was changing fast.
Cloud computing was becoming more important. Mobile software was growing. SAP was spending heavily on new technology and acquisitions.
McDermott handled the commercial side while SAP pushed into new areas.
The co-CEO structure lasted four years.
Sole CEO of SAP
In May 2014, McDermott became SAP’s sole CEO after Jim Hagemann Snabe stepped away from the co-CEO position.
SAP’s corporate history records that leadership change directly.
This was a major career moment.
He was now running one of Europe’s largest software businesses.
His publisher describes him as SAP’s first non-European sole CEO.
During this period, SAP pushed further into cloud software and business networks. Acquisitions such as Ariba, Fieldglass and Concur formed part of that wider shift.
ServiceNow’s current profile says SAP’s market value grew from about $39 billion to $163 billion during McDermott’s tenure. That figure comes from ServiceNow’s corporate account of his career.
Winners Dream
McDermott became an author in 2014.
His book is titled:
Winners Dream: A Journey from Corner Store to Corner Office
Simon & Schuster published the hardcover on October 14, 2014. The book runs 336 pages and was produced with Joanne Gordon.
The title tells the basic story.
It starts with his teenage deli experience and follows his path through Xerox and into SAP.
The book focuses heavily on selling, optimism, work habits, customer relationships and management.
McDermott also recorded the audiobook himself.
A Serious Personal Turning Point
In 2015, McDermott suffered a serious accident.
During a public appearance at Arizona State University, he said he had fallen down stairs while carrying a glass of water. Broken glass badly injured his left eye.
He lost the eye.
ASU reported that he also suffered major blood loss and went through nearly a dozen surgeries.
He later returned to work at SAP.
McDermott has spoken publicly about the experience when discussing setbacks and character. It became one of the major personal turning points he has chosen to discuss publicly.
Leaving SAP
His long SAP chapter ended in 2019.
SAP’s corporate history says McDermott decided to step down after about ten years at the top of the company, counting his years as co-CEO and sole CEO.
Jennifer Morgan and Christian Klein were named co-CEOs under SAP’s succession plan.
McDermott did not stay away from the CEO chair.
Actually, the next move came quickly.
Joining ServiceNow
On October 22, 2019, ServiceNow announced that McDermott would become its next President and CEO.
He was chosen to replace John Donahoe, who was leaving ServiceNow to become CEO of Nike.
McDermott took over at ServiceNow in November 2019.
He also joined its board.
Then, in October 2022, he became Chairman of the Board while remaining CEO. Intuit’s current director profile confirms those dates.
Right now, his title is:
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ServiceNow.
ServiceNow Under His Leadership
ServiceNow has grown heavily since McDermott joined.
The company’s official profile says full-year revenue has more than tripled since late 2019.
The workforce has grown too.
ServiceNow currently refers to more than 29,000 employees across the company.
The company entered the Fortune 500 during his time as CEO. In June 2026, ServiceNow confirmed it had appeared on the list for the fourth year in a row.
AI is now a major part of the company’s business direction.
ServiceNow is pushing software that connects AI with company data, workflows and business processes. McDermott has made that push a central part of the company’s current strategy.
Board Positions Outside ServiceNow
McDermott now holds several outside board seats.
He has served on the board of Zoom Video Communications since March 2022.
In July 2025, Figma announced that he had joined its Board of Directors.
Figma co-founder and CEO Dylan Field pointed to McDermott’s experience running and growing large enterprise businesses.
Another board appointment followed.
McDermott became an Intuit director in August 2026.
So, as of September 2026, his confirmed outside board roles include:
- Zoom
- Figma
- Intuit
Leadership Style
McDermott’s public business message has stayed fairly consistent.
Start with the customer.
Listen closely.
Sell clearly.
Keep people focused.
His story at the deli gets repeated for a reason. It gave him an early example of what happens when a business misses what its customers actually want.
That thinking followed him into Xerox.
Then SAP.
Now ServiceNow.
His background is strongly sales-led rather than technical. He did not rise by working as a software engineer. His strengths came from customer relationships, sales management, team leadership and running large businesses.
That distinction helps explain his career.
Major Career Achievements
Several career points stand out.
He spent 17 years at Xerox and became the company’s youngest corporate officer, according to his publisher.
He joined SAP in 2002.
He became SAP co-CEO in 2010.
He became sole CEO in 2014.
He led SAP during a major push into cloud software.
He became ServiceNow CEO in 2019.
He became ServiceNow Chairman in 2022.
ServiceNow says revenue has more than tripled since he joined.
And his business influence now reaches outside ServiceNow through board positions at Zoom, Figma and Intuit.
Career Timeline
| Year / Period | Career Event |
|---|---|
| Teenage years | Bought and ran a Long Island deli |
| Early career | Joined Xerox in sales |
| 17 years at Xerox | Rose to corporate officer and division president |
| Before SAP | Served as President of Gartner |
| Before SAP | EVP of Worldwide Sales and Operations at Siebel Systems |
| 2002 | Joined SAP |
| 2010 | Named SAP co-CEO with Jim Hagemann Snabe |
| 2014 | Became sole CEO of SAP |
| 2014 | Published Winners Dream |
| 2015 | Suffered an accident that caused the loss of his left eye |
| 2019 | Stepped down from SAP |
| November 2019 | Became ServiceNow CEO |
| March 2022 | Joined Zoom board |
| October 2022 | Became ServiceNow Chairman |
| July 2025 | Joined Figma board |
| August 2026 | Joined Intuit board |
| September 2026 | Chairman and CEO of ServiceNow |
Current Status
As of September 2026, Bill McDermott remains Chairman and CEO of ServiceNow.
ServiceNow’s current leadership page lists him in that position.
His current work is centered on enterprise software, AI, customer relationships and ServiceNow’s continued expansion.
He also remains a director at Zoom, Figma and Intuit.
His career now spans several different business periods.
Copiers.
Research and advisory services.
Enterprise software.
Cloud platforms.
And now AI-focused business software.
The companies changed.
The customer focus stayed.
Final Thought
Bill McDermott’s career did not begin inside a giant technology company.
It began behind a deli counter.
That early business experience was followed by 17 years at Xerox, senior positions at Gartner and Siebel Systems, a long run at SAP and his current leadership role at ServiceNow.
The scale became much bigger.
His basic business idea remained simple: understand customers, build strong teams and keep selling around real needs.
That approach took him from a small Long Island shop to the top of some of the world’s largest enterprise software companies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Bill McDermott?
Bill McDermott is an American business executive who currently serves as Chairman and CEO of ServiceNow. He previously led SAP.
What company does Bill McDermott run now?
He currently runs ServiceNow as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
When did Bill McDermott join ServiceNow?
He became ServiceNow’s CEO in November 2019 and later became Chairman in October 2022.
Was Bill McDermott CEO of SAP?
Yes. He became SAP co-CEO in 2010 and sole CEO in 2014. He stepped down in 2019.
Where did Bill McDermott study?
He studied business at Dowling College and earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He also completed an executive program at Wharton.
Did Bill McDermott own a deli?
Yes. His official publisher says he bought a small deli on Long Island when he was 16.
What book did Bill McDermott write?
He wrote Winners Dream: A Journey from Corner Store to Corner Office, published by Simon & Schuster in 2014.
Which company boards does Bill McDermott serve on?
As of September 2026, his confirmed outside board roles include Zoom, Figma and Intuit.
