TOKYO -- Kazuo Hirai, the former CEO of Sony who got the cash-bleeding Japanese electronics giant back onto its feet and delivered its first record earnings in two decades, retired from the board Tuesday.
His seven years at the helm -- six as chief executive and the past year as chairman -- were a transformative time. Clad in a polo shirt and jeans, the laid-back Hirai breathed fresh air into a company often mired in internal power struggles.
