NEW YORK (AP) -- IBM Chief Executive Louis V. Gerstner is being awarded an honorary British knighthood, one of the kingdom's highest honors and a rare tribute for an American business leader.
Gerstner was named over the weekend on a list of honorees released to coincide with the birthday of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II.
The award honors the role of Gerstner and IBM in developing e-commerce, or ways for businesses to market and sell via the Internet. It also praises an IBM initiative that seeks to augment education with technology.
The honors place Gerstner among an elite handful of knighted Americans, including film director Steven Spielberg, retired Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, comedian Bob Hope and former presidents Reagan and Bush.
Gerstner is the only non-British citizen to receive a the coveted knighthood this year.
The honors, to be bestowed in September, crown Gerstner's illustrious nine-year reign at IBM.
Although he has made no official retirement announcement, Gerstner is widely expected to depart IBM when his contract expires on his 60th birthday next March.
As a foreign recipient of the knighthood, Gerstner's award is an honorary one. The executive won't be able to add the title "sir" to his desk nameplate. Gerstner can, however, add the initials "K.B.E," or Knight of the British Empire, after his name.
Gerstner is widely credited for steering a money-losing IBM's to profitability after assuming the company's helm in 1993. Previous to IBM, Gerstner spent four years as chief executive of RJR Nabisco and 11 years in high-level jobs at the American Express Co.
