In the early 1990s, a young Dutchman named Remon Vos took a life-altering trip to a freshly post-Communist Czechoslovakia. What he saw wasn’t prosperity—it was potential. Cracked roads, gray skies, and empty lots. But to Vos, it looked like the future.
Three decades later, Vos has transformed that vision into CTP, one of Europe’s most dominant industrial and logistics real estate developers. With over 143 million square feet of leased space and another 284 million square feet of land ready for development, CTP serves powerhouse clients like DHL, Hyundai, H&M, and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Today, Vos is worth an estimated $6 billion and leads a company positioned to benefit from rising global tariffs, particularly as Asian companies seek European bases to bypass trade restrictions.
When U.S. tariffs under President Donald Trump sent shockwaves through global markets, CTP’s stock took a hit—but rebounded quickly. Vos, who holds a 73% stake in the firm, remained unfazed. “Asian companies like to be located in Europe to avoid import tariffs. That’s good for us,” he said. In 2024 alone, 20% of new leases were signed by Asian firms—like Hyundai and Hitachi—looking to manufacture within Europe. 
Vos, now 54, doesn’t sit still. Operating more like a startup founder than a real estate mogul, he jets across Europe scouting sites and closing deals, often spending only Mondays at the company’s sleek Prague HQ. “Don’t talk to me about IT or HR,” he says. “Talk to me about land and deals.”
Since launching CTP in 1998, Vos has grown it into the second-largest industrial real estate firm in Europe. His strategy? Expand rapidly, secure strategic land near borders and infrastructure, and build fast when clients need space. CTP’s properties are primarily located in lower-cost regions like the Czech Republic and Romania—now key logistics hubs for multinationals shipping goods across Europe.
The pandemic further accelerated demand. As companies moved operations closer to consumers—a process known as near-shoring—CTP’s relevance exploded. Vos has steered the company with intensity and instinct. “Remon is the battery of the company,” says analyst Wim Levi. “He recruits dealmakers who match his drive.” COO Peter Ceresnik calls Vos “a nuclear plant of energy.”
Even with success, Vos isn’t slowing down. In 2024, CTP raised $330 million in a share offering and borrowed $2.6 billion to fund land and property acquisitions across Europe. The goal? Reach $1.1 billion in rental income by 2027, up from $770 million in 2024. Over 19 million square feet of new development is already underway in nine countries.
Vos’s journey began far from boardrooms and financial projections. Born in the Dutch town of Stadskanaal, he was raised by a single mother and a car-trading father. He started working at age 12—washing cars and cleaning salons to afford “beer and cigarettes,” he jokes. After missing a high school trip to Czechoslovakia in 1988, he became obsessed with the country, eventually moving there in 1995 with his wife.
Initially, Vos exported Dutch goods, but a client’s request to open a factory revealed a bigger gap: no one was building the industrial properties companies needed. Vos and his business partner saw an opportunity. They bought land, built a business park, and signed their Dutch client as the first tenant. CTP was born.
From cold gray beginnings to continent-spanning dominance, Remon Vos is now one of Europe’s most influential real estate tycoons—building not just properties, but pathways for global commerce in an increasingly fractured world economy. His approach? Move fast, build smart, and never underestimate the power of being in the right place before anyone else sees its value.
