Gerstner: a leadership opportunity of a lifetime.

Lou Gerstner, in his first-ever keynote speech to Planet Tivoli attendees Thursday morning, asserted IBM_s leadership role in the evolving economy that is being transformed by the Internet. IBM_s chairman and CEO put on his visionary_s hat and described the fundamental shift taking place in the way business is conducted around the globe -- thanks to the Internet. "It_s worth noting that, in the blink of an eye, the Net established itself as a new mass medium faster than radio and TV ever did," he told the IT professionals gathered here for three days of seminars. "Fifty thousand new users are coming online every day. At the end of 1998, 40 nations had at least 1 million people -- including China -- on the Net. This year, there will be more non-Americans on the Net than Americans." IBM knew early on that the main use of the Internet would be for changing the way businesses interact with each other -- rather than as a consumer entertainment medium.