Cas König joins North Sea Port as new CEO

Cas König has wide-ranging experience in international business and executive roles. He has a particular affinity for environmental issues and health & safety in relation to economic activities. His challenge lies primarily at the intersection of sustainability and economics. Before his appointment by North Sea Port, he was CEO at Groningen Seaports for more than seven years. Cas König succeeds previous CEO Daan Schalck. 

The appointment of Cas König for six years marks the start of a new chapter for North Sea Port and the port community. North Sea Port is one of Europe's key ports, ranking ninth in the overall list. As a cross-border port formed on 1 January 2018, it stretches 60 kilometres from Vlissingen on the North Sea coast in the Netherlands, through Terneuzen, to Ghent in Belgium, 32 kilometres inland. 

International ambitions and challenges 

Cas König takes office at a time when ports are increasingly playing a societal as well as an economic role. Next to the port’s key role in greening industry and strengthening the logistics chain in Europe, König will also be focusing on the challenges of innovation, infrastructure development and international competition. In addition, cooperation with businesses and governments remains essential to the port's continued growth – regionally, nationally and internationally. 

"I have long admired how the merger between port of Ghent and Zeeland Seaports, comprising Vlissingen and Terneuzen, came about and evolved. As CEO of Groningen Seaports, I have got to know the Dutch-Flemish port up close. It is a great port with very diverse businesses – a thriving and exciting port with tremendous opportunities, but also enormous challenges. It is a great honour to be able to take this next step in my career. I look forward to quickly getting up to speed with customers, shareholders and everyone who is part of the port community. That includes those who live and work around the port." König currently lives near the city of Groningen. "We‘ll start looking for a suitable house somewhere near the port as soon as possible," says the new CEO. 

"Cas König shares the vision of the shareholders to maintain our focus on sustainability and economic development as a top European port, and to do so within a manageable financial framework," says Chair of the Supervisory Body Pieter van Geel. “Our international ambitions are key in that regard. North Sea Port wants to further strengthen its position in Europe, which is a big challenge within a changing geopolitical world," adds Vice-Chair Sofie Bracke. 

New strategic plan 

Cas König will officially take up his position as CEO on 2 June 2025. He will work closely with the Supervisory Body, the board and all stakeholders to achieve North Sea Port's long-term ambitions. In doing so, he will be guided by a new strategic plan for North Sea Port, which will be in place by the end of the year. As the ninth-biggest seaport in Europe, North Sea Port provides 106,000 direct and indirect jobs. In terms of added value, the port is Europe's number three. The 550 companies in the port area generate prosperity in the region and contribute to economic and sustainable development in the Netherlands, Flanders, Belgium and Europe. 

Biography of Cas König 

• Cas König (58) was appointed CEO of Groningen Seaports NV on 1 September 2017. He hails from the east of the Netherlands; however, after completing his studies in Environmental Engineering, he stayed on in the north of the country. During the early part of his career, he also completed an MBA degree. Cas König is extremely familiar with the business world and has a particular affinity for environmental issues and health & safety in relation to economic activities. His challenge lies primarily at the intersection of sustainability and economics. 

• He has gained practical and social experience both at home and abroad. In 2013, he was voted Plant Manager of the Year by the Dutch and Flemish processing industry, making him the industry’s figurehead for a year. 

• In recent years, he has gained extensive experience as CEO of Groningen Seaports, the operator of the ports of Delfzijl and Eemshaven. Before that, he headed enterprises including the Aldel aluminium plant and ESD-SIC. 

• Since 2018, Cas König has chaired the Industry Table of the Northern Netherlands cluster, made up of 26 industrial and energy companies, whose primary objective is to explore how to reduce CO2 emissions in the area from Emmen to Eemshaven. 

• In 2023, König accepted the Langman Prize from the initiators, which include Groningen Seaports and Gasunie, for the construction of a floating LNG terminal in Eemshaven. The terminal was installed and commissioned within six months of the start of the war in Ukraine. It has sufficient capacity to import 30% of Dutch gas demand. 

• Cas König holds various board positions and has been Honorary Consul of the Kingdom of Denmark since 1 October 2024.