Gerald Tsai Jr., a former chairman of...

Gerald Tsai Jr., a former chairman of Primerica Corp. and one-time Wall Street whiz, has joined the board of Zenith National Insurance Corp. in Woodland Hills.

Zenith, which specializes in workers’ compensation and other property-casualty insurance, now has nine directors on its board.

Tsai, 62, first gained fame as one of the “go-go” mutual fund managers that prospered on Wall Street in the late-1960s. In the 1980s, he helped turn American Can Co. into a diversified financial-services company that became Primerica Corp.

He left as Primerica’s chairman in 1988 after the company merged with Commercial Credit Group. In addition to Commercial Credit, Primerica’s holdings include the investment firm Smith Barney Harris Upham & Co.