Lucky for him he isn’t Canadian – IBM Corp. CEO Lou Gerstner is set to receive an honourary British knighthood, one of the country’s highest honours and a rare tribute for an American business leader. Gerstner recently joined a list of honourees released to coincide with Queen Elizabeth II’s birthday in September.The award honors Gerstner and IBM’s role in developing e-commerce. It also praises an IBM initiative that seeks to augment education with technology. The honour places Gerstner among an elite handful of knighted Americans, including film director Steven Spielberg, retired U.S. general Norman Schwarzkopf, comedian Bob Hope and former presidents Reagan and Bush.