Johan van Zyl (8 June 1958 – 30 July 2021) was a South African business executive. He was an executive of

Toyota is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on August 28, 1937. Toyota is the List of manuf ...

, serving as chairman, president and

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

Toyota Motor Europe Toyota Motor Europe (TME) is a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation, overseeing operations across Europe and Western Asia, including Turkey, Russia, Israel, Kazakhstan, and the Caucasus. TME’s activities encompass research and development ...

from 2015 to 2021.

Biography

Van Zyl graduated from

Potchefstroom University The Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (abbreviated as PU for CHE) was a South African university located in Potchefstroom. Instruction was mainly in Afrikaans language, Afrikaans. In 2004, the university was merged with othe ...

in 1986 with a

doctor of philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

degree in business administration. In 1993, he joined Toyota as director of Toyota Motor Sales South Africa. In 1995, he became director of marketing at

Toyota South Africa Motors Toyota South Africa Motors (Proprietary) Limited (TSAM) is an automobile manufacturer that is a subsidiary of Toyota based in Prospecton, South Africa. History In 1959, the first Toyota model, a Land Cruiser, was exported to South Africa, follo ...

. In 1996, he was promoted to managing director of Toyota South Africa Motors, president and

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

in 2002 and president and chief executive officer in 2003. In 2009, van Zyl was appointed a managing officer of Toyota Motor Corporation. In 2013, he became chief executive officer of Toyota's Africa operations. In 2015, he was appointed president and chief executive officer of Toyota Motor Europe. In 2016, van Zyl was appointed chairman of Toyota Motor Sales South Africa and senior managing officer of Toyota Motor Corporation in 2017. He also dealt with the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

withdrawal from the European Union Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union (TEU) provides for the possibility of an EU member state leaving the European Union "in accordance with its own constitutional requirements". Currently, the United Kingdom is the only state to ha ...

. He retired from Toyota Motor Europe in April 2021, but remained chairman of Toyota South Africa Motors. In July 2021, van Zyl tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. He received medical treatment, but died at a hospital in Pretoria on 30 July. He was 63 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Van zyl, Johan 1958 births 2021 deaths People from Springs, Gauteng South African chief executives South African business executives Toyota people White South African people 20th-century South African businesspeople 21st-century South African businesspeople Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa