From Delhi to HEC Paris: Harivansh Gahlot’s Search for Impact

At 24 years old, Harivansh Gahlot (MBA ’27) has already built a career spanning sustainability consulting, social entrepreneurship, and education innovation. Before joining HEC Paris, the Delhi native worked at Bain & Company and later at L.E.K. Consulting, specializing in ESG, decarbonization, and ethical governance strategy. At L.E.K., he was part of a three-person international sustainability team serving 65 offices globally — and the only team member based in India. 

For Harivansh, business has always needed to serve a larger purpose.

During his undergraduate studies at Shaheed Shukhdev, he founded Baywise, a startup designed to make design thinking and innovation education accessible to underserved communities in India. One of the initiative’s earliest projects focused on helping impoverished girls create backpacks tailored to their own needs. 

“The first step is empathy,” he explains. “We stepped into their shoes and understood what they actually needed.” Students worked through the entire creative process, from brainstorming ideas on sticky notes and mood boards to connecting with manufacturers and bringing products to life.

What began as a local initiative eventually expanded into a curriculum implemented in Delhi government schools and two additional Indian states. With the support of mentors, former colleagues, and a volunteer team of nearly 40 people, Baywise grew into a large-scale educational initiative centered on creativity, problem solving, and innovation. “In India, a lot of impoverished people do not have access to that kind of thinking,” Harivansh says. “The idea was to democratize that.”

Despite his professional success, Harivansh increasingly questioned the lifestyle that came with consulting, which led him to reassess what he wanted from both his career and personal life. “I like to assess things not just from a money perspective but also from an emotional perspective,” he says.

That search for meaning shaped his decision to pursue an MBA at HEC Paris. Though opportunities in the United States and elsewhere were available to him, he was drawn to France for cultural and personal reasons as much as academic ones. Having studied French since fourth grade and already holding a B2 level before arriving on campus, he says France’s social model resonated deeply with him. “We all have to exist on the planet and should help each other out,” he says.

HEC Paris had also long been on his radar through a former senior from his undergraduate marketing society who later attended the school. Receiving the acceptance call, however, still felt surreal. “I saw a missed call with +33 and thought, ‘OMG, is that HEC?’” he recalls. “I had goosebumps all over my body.”

Relocating marked a meaningful personal transition - the first time living away from home and familiar support systems. The first days on campus, however, were not without difficulty; an early bout of illness made Harivansh’s adjustment harder, and the emotional weight of the change was real. 

Then he came across an old Nicki Minaj interview — in which she reflects on choosing to show up and look your best even when you feel your worst — which proved to be a small but genuine reminder that how we respond to difficult moments is often a choice. Rather than withdrawing, his decision was to stay present, lean into the experience, and treat the discomfort as part of something worth doing.

At HEC Paris, Harivansh says one of the most transformative aspects of the MBA has been the diversity of perspectives and cultures represented in the classroom. “I haven’t met so many people from so many countries in one classroom,” he says. He credits the school with intentionally encouraging students to step outside their comfort zones through experiences ranging from improv classes to French cultural traditions like wine-and-cheese evenings.

One class left a lasting impression. During an improv exercise, students had to communicate using only applause and body language. “We learned that even a no answer is an answer,” he says. “How you deal with emotions, body language, communication and soft skills.”

Now exploring future careers in strategy, partnerships, marketing, and internal innovation roles, Harivansh remains driven by impact above all else. He will do a summer internship at L’Oreal’s Paris office in the Professional Products Division in Strategy. Then he will start the second leg of his MBA at the Yale School of Management. 

Whether through consulting, education, entrepreneurship, or global business, Harivansh continues to seek opportunities where impact and purpose intersect. “I really want to see an impact when I can change the world in whatever way I can,” he says. “That's what gets me out of bed every morning.”