Carl Elsener Sr. Carl Elsener Sr. Carl Elsener Sr. (also known as Charles Elsener, born 6 July 1922 in Ibach, † 1 June 2013 in Schwyz) was a Swiss entrepreneur. Carl Elsener was the grandson of Karl Elsener (1860-1918) and the son of Carl Elsener (1886-1950). Karl Elsener had opened a factory in Ibach for the production of knives and surgical instruments, from which the knife factory Victorinox developed. Carl Elsener led the company initially with his father and his brother Eduard Elsener (b. 1926). After the death of his father in 1950, he took over the management. The Swiss Army Knife is
Carl Elsener Sr. considered to be one of his works. Under the leadership of Carl Elsener Sr., the Messerfabrik became the largest company in the canton of Schwyz. In 1938, Elsener joined the company, which at the time had employed 80 people. At the time of his death, there was well over a thousand employees. Elsener is described as a boss who was able to operate almost all the machines himself, who was traveling in the "Lismerli" or in the blue work coat and who cycled to the factory. He never owned a car. A few years before his death, he felt healthy