Career
Dr Van Zyl joined the Sanlam Group in 2001 as Chief Executive of Santam and was appointed Group Chief Executive Officer of Sanlam in 2003, a position he held until 2015. He is a Non-executive Director for Rain Group Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Blue Bulls (Pty) Ltd where he is the chairman of Neil Ellis Wines (Pty) Ltd and Aenigma Investments Holdings (Pty) Ltd.
He holds directorships and associations in African Rainbow Capital, Ubuntu-Botho Investments and the Vumelana Advisory Fund, of which he is the Chair. He is also a former Vice-chancellor and Principal of the University of Pretoria.
Qualifications
Dr Van Zyl is an expert in insurance, financial markets, investments, general business, human resources, marketing and international business. He initially trained as an agricultural economist and holds a PhD in Economics and a DSc in Agricultural Economics.
