Ahad Khot, BS 26, led teams that participated in 13 internal and external case competitions, winning nine of them. He’s using what he learned while teaching the spring edition of the “Breaking into Case Competitions” DeCal course.
Ahad Khot was a sophomore in high school recovering from a severe biking accident when he competed in his first case competition.
“I started doing case competitions because it was the only thing I could do in bed,” said Khot, who grew up in Dubai, always interested in the intersection of business and technology. “The first one I did was the world’s largest one at the time. It was the Tiger Global Case Competition and over 2,500 students participated online. Somehow our team won.”
Khot, who will earn both a BS in business and a BA in economics this spring, was hooked. And when he arrived at UC Berkeley Haas, he was determined to pursue more case competitions, which are designed to pose tough business problems for students to solve—everything from how best to market a product to how to expand a company’s global footprint.
Undergraduate students (left to right) Brennan Dai, Sahil Jaiswal, Maya Wu, Russell Kang, Ahad Khot, and Ellie Hwang at Morgan Stanley, one of many corporate leaders that sponsor undergraduate case competitions.
Over his first two years at Berkeley, Khot led teams that participated in 13 internal and external case competitions, winning nine of them. Many of his team members went on to become his best friends. The winning was fun, he said, but he credits the case competitions, sponsored by corporate leaders like Deloitte, PwC, Microsoft, Morgan Stanley and Capital One, with teaching him the deep skills that he needed to succeed in consulting, where he’s launching his post-graduation career.
“Cases teach you adaptability in a corporate setting,” he said. “They teach you what to do if your plans don’t work, and they teach you first principles thinking as well.”
Forming a diverse team
Immediately after arriving on campus from Dubai, Khot began recruiting a team of students from diverse backgrounds to join his case team.
“Because of the nature of case competitions, you need a lot of different backgrounds because they really reward diverse perspectives,” he said. “You need the tech, you need the business, you sometimes need biology and life sciences. These are students you wouldn’t meet otherwise, maybe because you’re in a different track at Haas. So you have to seek them out. Otherwise you’re not going to win.”
Khot said these learnings became clear during his internship as an associate consultant at Bain & Co last summer. “Much of my day-to-day work was similar to what I did in case competitions—using hypothesis-driven thinking and forming an answer first before testing it,” he said.
Khot’s involvement at Haas expands far beyond his track record as a case competition winner. He served as VP of Consulting for Muslims of Haas and VP of Corporate Relations for the Haas Business Student Association (HBSA).
This semester, Khot is leading the spring edition of the “Breaking into Case Competitions” DeCal, with a refreshed mandate shaped by his track record in case competitions. The updated course focuses on what judges look for on competition day, drawing from the guidance Khot has consistently shared with teams preparing to compete.
Heading to Bain & Co
After graduating, Khot will return to Bain as an associate consultant, working on corporate turnaround strategies that help companies rebuild. “This is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time,” he said. “I really love turnaround strategy. It drives some of the most innovative changes because leaders coming from this background spend a lot of time with people on the ground and do research that executives don’t always get the chance to do.”
Khot said his most difficult case competition was his first, the Nexus Case Competition, where he recalls being intimidated by the more seasoned seniors.
“They were the gatekeepers and that was scary for us because we were just freshmen,” he said. “But ultimately, I think what I tried to tell everyone was to focus on the fundamentals and to build a case and break the seniors’ winning formula by doing something different, coming from an outside perspective. We ended up winning that case competition. That was really big for us in the community and for our self-confidence.”
His most fun competition? The Thammasat Undergraduate Business Competition held in Thailand in October 2024, which combined strong team camaraderie with a cultural adventure. Each year, Haas is invited to international case competitions worldwide.
(Left to right) Aryan Chaudhari, Karen Lin, assistant director for business with Berkeley Career Engagement, Kelly Lee, Reeya Randhawa and Khot, who led a team at the USC Marshall International Case Competition last February.
Karen Lin, assistant director for business with Berkeley Career Engagement, served as team advisor at the USC Marshall International Case Competition last February, where Khot led a newly-formed team. “He stepped up with clarity and initiative, helping shape a strategic and collaborative team culture,” she said. “The team surged from a modest start to become a top contender under Ahad’s leadership. This progression reflects his ability to lead through uncertainty and bring out the best in his peers.”
Passing the baton
During case preparation, Khot said he encourages students to take advantage of the power that their UC Berkeley email address provides with alumni and other connections to gather data and reach out with questions.
“Case competitions opened doors I never expected,” he said. “I was able to speak with a former U.S. Secretary of Labor and gain access to insights and connections that most people never do.”
Khot retired from case competitions a year ago. Now, he’s enjoying his classes and serving as a mentor to students, particularly the first-years who bring new energy and enthusiasm.
“I feel you need to pass the baton,” he said. “There’s no need for me as a senior to be going into these competitions. I mentor a lot of teams now and that’s more fun for me.”
(left to right) Levi Montoya, Brennan Dai, Ahad Khot, Elias Benchekroun, Jessica Nguyen, Dr. Lauren Simon, and Ellie Hwang at a panel featuring Haas International Case Competition team alumni.