(Bloomberg) -- ServiceNow Inc. incoming Chief Executive Officer Bill McDermott promised to transform the growing software maker into a “global juggernaut” as he works to convince investors he’s the right man for the job.

“I wanted at this stage in my career a company that was in the early stage of its growth pattern and help them go to the next phase, to truly become one of the most admired software brands in the world,” McDermott, who stepped down earlier this month as CEO of German software giant SAP SE, said Wednesday in an interview. “The company is on a roll. I’m going to fortify that and continue that. The experience of what I know and I’ve seen will be incredibly helpful to ServiceNow. This company will be a global juggernaut.”

ServiceNow has long promised to organize tedious parts of office life, like setting up a help desk for IT operations and bringing on board new employees. The company has expanded into new markets, such as human resources, to maintain an annual sales growth rate of at least 35%, which it has achieved since going public in 2012. McDermott’s appointment Tuesday concerned some investors and analysts highlighted that he hasn’t led “growth companies,” having worked at Xerox and spent about a decade as the first American CEO of Walldorf, Germany-based SAP.

McDermott dismissed the criticism, saying ServiceNow is glad to have a “street fighter” like him in its corner.

“If someone says Bill McDermott is best known for running large, global, powerhouse companies and they say ‘Is he the right person to lead ServiceNow because it’s not as large,’ I would say, I was completely unaware of ServiceNow’s intention to stay small,” he said. “I’m a leader. I lead organizations and establish visions. At the same time, I’m conforming to ServiceNow’s culture. I think that’s why I am the perfect person.”

McDermott added that continuity is important and he sees himself as similar to John Donahoe, ServiceNow’s current CEO, who is stepping down in January to run Nike Inc. McDermott also said he wants all of ServiceNow’s current executives to remain in place when he takes the top job.

McDermott said ServiceNow had selected its new chief financial officer from a pool of candidates he had interviewed, and will announce the pick before Thanksgiving, in late November. The person will be charged with boosting the company’s operating margins and profit, he said.

The Santa Clara, California-based company is scheduled to release quarterly earnings later Wednesday. The shares have gained 23% this year.

While McDermott is known for his penchant for large acquisitions, such as SAP’s almost $8 billion purchase of Qualtrics International Inc., he said ServiceNow still had a lot of room for organic growth, which is his preference.

“There is no need at this time for large scale M&A maneuvers,” he said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Nico Grant in San Francisco at ngrant20@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Jillian Ward at jward56@bloomberg.net, Andrew Pollack, Alistair Barr

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.