The average CEO of a public company made around $9.6 million last year. People like Larry Page (News - Alert), Mark Zuckerburg, Steve Jobs and Bill Gates have appeared in more headlines than the current president of the United States.

What furthers similarities between CEOs and politicians is that in the event one steps down, it could make news. Such is the case with Greg Lowe, featured in the news this week for his recent appointment as CEO at Freescale Semiconductor Holdings, Ltd (FSH).

The Detroit Press ran an article last month disclosing the annual salary of a CEO in 2011, but the article expanded on the strings attached. “The corporate world is under a brighter, more uncomfortable spotlight than it was a few years ago, before the financial crisis struck in the fall of 2008,” it said.

Interestingly, a press release from FSH included a summarized biography of its new chief of operations, Greg Lowe, that reads like a CV – lending credibility to DP’s “spotlight” claim. Here’s what it says:

1. Mr. Lowe earned a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering in 1984 from Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Terre Haute, Indiana. He later received the university's Career Achievement Award to recognize his accomplishments in the community and within the semiconductor industry. He graduated from the Stanford Executive Program at Stanford University.
2. Mr. Lowe joined TI's field sales organization in 1984, with responsibility for growing the company's business with automobile manufacturers.
3. In 1990, he moved to Germany to lead the European automotive sales force, managing teams and customer relationships in France, Germany, Italy, England and Spain.
4. In 1994, Mr. Lowe returned to the U.S. to manage TI's Microcontroller organization. Later, he led the Application Specific Integrated Circuit organization, overseeing a worldwide team with design centers and customers on each continent.
5. In 2001, he moved to the Analog business to manage High Speed Communications and Controls. Later that year, Mr. Lowe became manager of the High Performance Analog business unit with responsibility for TI's high-performance data converter, amplifier, power management and interface integrated circuits.

What should we take from this? We can see from the list that his qualifications match the esotery of this industry. Lowe’s understanding of the European market is also surely more substantial than most. We know that the purpose behind releasing this information was for business, but perhaps we can all gain from using Greg Lowe as an example of how hard work gets you closer to the American dream – over attending too many Bruce Springsteen concerts – or whatever other non-CEOs did a few decades ago.