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Sahil Bablani’s (MBA ‘26) unorthodox journey to HBS.

If you asked Sahil Bablani’s section-mates to describe him in a few words, you’d likely hear something along the lines of “contrarian,” “devil’s advocate,” and “super smart.” Anyone who’s spent time in Aldrich 008 knows that no topic is off-limits when his hand is in the air. Whether it be an impassioned plea for a complete and total AI takeover of retail dentistry, or persistent, opaque references to seedless mangoes, he’s proven time and time again that he’s capable of engaging intellectually across a wide array of topics. And while he’s known primarily on campus for his unconventional perspectives on obscure case details, there’s more to his story than even the most lively case discussion could reveal.

The oldest of two children and born in Toronto to immigrant parents, Bablani was an active kid. His father worked long hours, and his mother — a bank teller, who later became a teacher — was eager to keep him busy. She introduced him to a variety of activities, but soccer, swimming, and tennis didn’t take. However, on his way to swim practice at the Angus Glen Community Center, a fencing class occurring across the hall caught his eye. Curious about the prospect of getting to play with swords and having identified a potential excuse to spend less time in the pool, he joined the team simply because it looked like fun.

He found immediate success as a member of this new group. His naturally competitive spirit lent itself to success in such an individually focused sport, and the intellectual appeal of the competition piqued his interest from the beginning. He learned quickly how to read opponents, execute strategies, and play “mind games” with his opponents, often thinking many moves ahead in order to give himself an advantage. He was hooked, and his precociousness allowed him to quickly outgrow his local group. Seeking a greater challenge, he joined one of Toronto’s top clubs and began to compete more seriously.

While the focus at his prior club had been on having fun, he was now thrust into a setting where tactical, focused training was the norm. Both he and his counterparts were there primarily to compete, and his skills developed exponentially as a result. Bablani asserts that “nobody is born a good fencer,” and this was the first time in his career when he was able to see the value of intentional effort made towards his own development. With the help of his coaches, he built a structured feedback loop where he was quickly able to identify and address weaknesses in his approach. This enabled more rapid improvement, and his profile as a player grew as he entered adolescence.

Fencing isn’t hugely popular in Canada, so the entire ecosystem is concentrated in a few major cities — primarily Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver, with a few others in Ottawa and Calgary. Bablani’s central location in Toronto worked to his benefit in this regard; he found himself in close proximity to much of the other top talent and major tournaments and was thus able to prove himself with relatively little friction. His performance in major competitions — capped by a victory over the number two ranked fencer in the world at an American tournament — earned him a place on the U17 Canadian National Team. From there, he traveled to Bulgaria and competed under his nation’s flag, just five years after he’d taken up the sport.

However, after a year on the U17 team, Bablani began to think more about his fencing career in the broader context of his life. He’d become a competitive fencer almost by accident, and his aspirations weren’t exclusive to the fencing strip. A strong student, he’d long hoped to leverage his athletic talent into an opportunity to fence here at Harvard, but this ultimately wasn’t to be, and he instead accepted a scholarship to attend Queen’s University in his native Ontario. While he joined the fencing team at Queen’s, transitioning to a more team-focused competitive structure was challenging for the notoriously individual Bablani. Following the tragic loss of his coach during his sophomore year, he gradually moved away from the sport.

That being said, his identity as a fencer had a marked impact on his career choices and persisted even after taking off the mask for the last time. His rapid ascent through the fencing world imbued in him a mindset that “there really isn’t anything in the world that you can’t figure out,” as well as a sense of individual responsibility and aversion to passing the buck to others. These traits, along with the ability to delay gratification, has had an indelible impact on his professional aspirations. After spending summers in sales and trading and management consulting, he ultimately accepted an investing role with the Canadian Pension Plan (CPP). The son and brother of educators, he embraced CPP’s mission of ensuring a strong financial future for Canada’s public servants. The work itself existed at the intersection point of many of his skills and interests, and as someone who’d already worn the Canadian flag as a competitive athlete, he appreciated the unique role of CPP in supporting the communities that raised him. As he puts it, “it’s rewarding to know that you’re investing the money of the people you love and care about.” 

It was this same sense of duty and stewardship that compelled his decision to leave home and come to HBS. While he loved his role at CPP, the commitment to personal growth instilled in him during his fencing career ultimately drove him to pursue his MBA. The experience has been more than he’d anticipated, and while he doesn’t know what’s next for him, that’s by design. He’s interested in a variety of things, but his true aspiration is characteristically individual — that is, to “end up in a place where I can build a life for myself that’s intertwined with the work I do.” And while it’s hard to know exactly what that looks like, it’s a safe assumption that he’ll always be a move or two ahead.

John Mahoney (MBA ’26) is a native of West Des Moines, Iowa. He graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2021 with a degree in Finance. While in college, he was a walk-on defensive back for the Fighting Irish and wrote a book about his experience, titled “History Through The Headsets.” Prior to coming to HBS, John worked in consulting and strategy in Minneapolis and Chicago.