Annette Winkler is to leave her position as head of Smart in September after eight years in the role.

Annette Winkler is to leave her position as head of Smart

Her successor will be announced at a later date while Winkler will continue to be associated with the Daimler Group and will be appointed to the supervisory board of Mercedes-Benz South Africa effective 1 January 2019.

Winkler commented: “One of the key responsibilities of every executive is to pass on leading positions to the next generation at the right time. And that time has now come – with the clear focus of smart as a fully electric urban-mobility brand and with the decision to develop the Hambach facility into a plant for fully electric vehicles within the Mercedes-Benz production network. With my endless passion for smart and the people behind it, this decision was not easy for me. I am all the more pleased that I can now support the handover to a successor. I will continue to be a passionate ambassador for smart and Daimler in the future – just as I have always been for the past 23 years with great enthusiasm and gratitude.”

Winkler has been involved in operational activities at Daimler for 23 years. She joined Mercedes-Benz in 1995 and held a number of roles including senior director/head public relations and communications.

Daimler chairman Dieter Zetsche said: “Annette Winkler has had a successful and lasting impact on Mercedes-Benz, and especially on smart, over a period of many years. As a true entrepreneurial personality, she has led smart to new successes and systematically transformed it into an electric mobility brand. Under Annette Winkler’s leadership, the smart plant in Hambach has continually improved its competitiveness and is extremely well positioned for the future.”