Elf Rolf is a native of Austria. As a young man he moved to Russia and was a refugee of that country in 1915 when he found his way to Santa’s employ. Skilled in carpentry, Rolf was given duties in Santa’s workshop where he worked for many years. Charged with building the first airplane Santa ever flew in 1927 — thanks to his wood working skills — Elf Rolf was transferred to the Research and Development Department where he served for many years as a sleigh designer and eventually as a flight test pilot.

Rolf took a departure from that work in the mid-1960s when he pursued a degree in computer science, a pioneering field for the North Pole. He returned in 1968 and for years served in data processing before being transferred to the North Pole Tracking and Flight Command Center as an IT specialist. He was instrumental in helping Santa to set up a network of satellites that have become the backbone of North Pole information systems to this day.