Alexander Israel | |
|---|---|
| Alma mater | University of Puget Sound |
| Known for | Co-founder of Metropolis Technologies (CEO) Co-founder of ParkMe |
| Board member of | National Parking Association |
Alexander Israel is an American entrepreneur known for being CEO and co-founder of Metropolis Technologies, the largest parking operator in North America. He previously co-founded ParkMe and served as its chief operating officer.
Israel grew up in Los Angeles. He stated in an interview with Alejandro Cremades that his mother was a psychologist, and his father was a theatre set designer. [1]
Israel graduated from University of Puget Sound in 2006 with bachelor's degree in business and economics. [2] Additionally, he received an MFA in Film. [3]
In 2007, Israel founded the digital parking platform ParkMe. [4] He served as chief product officer and chief operating officer. [5] The platform allows users to find and reserve parking spaces online, and pay for them digitally. [6] By 2013, the company had expanded its services to 28,000 locations [7] and launched a mobile app. [8]
ParkMe was acquired in 2015 by INRIX, a spinoff of Microsoft Research which had previously been a partner of ParkMe since 2012. [6] [9]
Israel serves as CEO of Metropolis Technologies, which he co-founded in 2017. [10] The company operates paid parking through an artificial intelligence platform that is used to process payments process payments [11] [12] and manage parking infrastructure. [13] [14]
As of 2021, it operated in 600 different locations in the United States, and had offices in cities like San Francisco, Seattle, and New York City. The company raised $41 million in funding for this expansion. [15] That year, the company also entered a partnership with Uber. [16]
Under Israel, the company has adopted a growth buyout strategy of acquisition supported by investments from venture capital firms. [17] The company acquired the Nashville based company Premier Parking in 2022. [18] In 2024, it acquired SP Plus Corporation for $1.5 billion as part of a growth buyout strategy, which plans to leverage SP Plus' growth. [19] [20] It raised $1.8 billion in funding for this acquisition, led by venture capital firms and institutional investors such Eldridge Industries, 3L, BDT & MSD Partners, Vista Credit Partners, Temasek, Slow Ventures and Assembly Ventures. [21] At the time of the acquisition, SP Plus had over 20,000 employees and 3,300 locations in North America. [22] The acquisition made Metropolis the largest parking operator in North America. [23]
Israel also serves on the board of the National Parking Association. [24]
Israel was included on Los Angeles Business Journal's "20 In Their 20s" list in 2013. [25] He was included in the National Parking Association's "40 Under 40" list in 2016. [26] In 2024, Ernst & Young named Israel "Entrepreneur of the Year" for Los Angeles. [27] Metropolis Technologies received the Los Angeles Business Journal 's "Innovator Award" in 2024. [28]