Kakani Family Delivers a Hat Trick for SIGMA
When Ratna Yaramilli started at SIGMA in 1995, she had no idea she was starting a family trend. Before long, she was followed to SIGMA by her brother Raju and her sister-in-law Latha. Ratna joined the company as an accounts payable associate, and within four years had been tapped to fill a wider role in the accounting department. She comments, “I could not have worked anywhere else for 28 years. SIGMA is THE BEST company. It really is a family. My coworkers were truly excellent, everyone was so professional, we always helped each other and just got the job done.”
Raju Kakani, Vice President of IT and Ratna’s brother, joined SIGMA in 1996 following a visit to his sister; he says with a smile: “I have Ratna to blame and to thank for this career move!” He had been working in management role for a an MNC in India and then project management for a company in Nigeria before he met SIGMA founder Victor Pais, who offered him a role managing SIGMA’s early computer systems. He explains: “We can’t call it managing IT, there was no such thing! We had a collection of computers, which in those days were first-generation, black and white, simple systems running off a mainframe.” Raju soon realized he needed additional expertise and enrolled in an IT program, a commitment to continuous learning that would define his career.
Under his leadership, SIGMA’s IT capabilities expanded to include enterprise systems, intranet development, and robust cybersecurity infrastructure. Over the years, Raju built and led SIGMA’s IT function through multiple generations of technology, guiding the company from simple mainframe systems to a modern, integrated, and secure technology environment that supports every area of the business. “Technology is always changing,” Raju explains, “so it was necessary to keep learning every day to remain current. Today, cybersecurity is a critical function of our IT department, and SIGMA’s is truly state-of-the-art—protecting our systems, our data, and our people.” For nearly three decades, Raju has been a trusted partner to SIGMA’s leadership team, ensuring that technology not only kept pace with the company’s growth but actively enabled it.
Latha Kakani, Raju’s wife, joined SIGMA in 2002 at the behest of her sister-in-law. Ratna knew that Latha was planning to return to work part-time and learned of an opportunity in SIGMA’s Accounts Payable department. She tipped off her sister-in-law, who was interested, but slightly concerned that her background was more in the human resources space. Like her husband, Latha did not shy away from learning so she enrolled in an accounting course to acquire the skills needed for the new job. Before long, Latha’s role expanded to a full-time job in AP managing general and administrative, travel and entertaining, and sales reporting accounting functions. When asked about her experience at SIGMA, Latha sums it up in one word: “Awesome! Jeff, Sandra, Karen, Don, Maria, Rebekah—really everyone in BFA—they are such a solid team. They created a perfect family atmosphere and there so much support, both professional and personal. Everyone pitches in, there’s no one-upmanship, it’s just about getting the work done in the best possible way.”
When asked about working together the siblings have their individual takes. Raju comments, “Latha and I commuted together every day but then at the office we went our separate ways. There was not a lot of overlap between AP and IT, so we didn’t really ‘talk shop.’ We kept it professional. I worked more with Ratna, because she handled things like ERP and audits, which intersected with IT, so there was a lot of collaboration. It was amazing working with my sister and my wife. ” Ratna agrees: “When we got to work we all had a job to do, and that was the primary focus.” But when it comes to tech support, she has a slightly different take; she says with a laugh: “When your brother is head of IT you might think you would have good technical support. Not me. I was always last in line if I had a computer issue. I used to tattle to Siddharth and he would say, ‘but it’s your brother!’ and I would say, ‘exactly, he can ignore me!”.
Ratna sums it up well: “SIGMA has a beautiful management model. They really encourage opportunity, they bring people from the same family into an environment that allows for advancement, and everyone works hard toward a common goal. It’s really unique.” Ratna retired last year, and describes her newfound leisure as “wonderful” but admits to missing the folks at SIGMA. Meanwhile, Raju and Latha are still going strong in their respective positions, with Raju continuing to lead SIGMA’s IT strategy in an ever-evolving digital landscape, and Latha managing her accounts payable division".
We thank all three of the Kakanis for their service to the company, congratulate them on their illustrious careers, wish Ratna a happy retirement, and wish Latha and Raju continued success.