Nat Parker, a self-described transit geek, has loved public transportation since he was a kid exploring the city of Arlington, Virginia with a Metro card swinging from a lanyard around his neck. So when he founded a mobile ticketing firm in 2007 designed to make public transportation easier to use, Daimler was probably the last big company he'd expect to come knocking at his door. "I would never have imagined that my acquirer would be the inventor of the automobile," said Parker, who now serves as CEO as the Daimler-owned firm Moovel North America. The German automaker acquired Parker's Portland-based company, GlobeSherpa, in 2015. This past April, GlobeSherpa was merged with the Austin-based ride-sourcing company RideScout to create Moovel North America.