Annette Winkler was the CEO and director of Smart Automobile, the division of Daimler AG noted for manufacturing and marketing the two-passenger Smart Fortwo and four-passenger Smart Forfour city cars, from 2011 to 2018.
As the first woman to head a Daimler brand, Automotive News Europe described Winkler's 2010 appointment as "a significant victory for women in a male-dominated industry".in early 2018, Daimler said Winkler will step down as the division’s CEO at the end of September, 2018 after 23 years with the company.
She got appointed as a member of the advisory board of Mercedes-Benz South Africa as of January 2019.