He is the immediate past chairman of the Sanlam Board.
He 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.
Dr Van Zyl is a Non-executive Director for Rain Group Holdings (Pty) Ltd, Blue Bulls (Pty) Ltd where he is the chairman, 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.
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.