Kate Luft, Citi’s new head of U.S. retail banking, draws inspiration for customer engagement from the airline industry. “I think of it like an airline,” she said. “The more you do with us, the more we recognize you.” Luft led the overhaul of Citi’s U.S. retail strategy last year, simplifying products, consolidating checking accounts, and introducing “relationship tiers” that reward customers with perks like waived fees when they meet balance thresholds. “Really what we did was redefine our products and value [propositions],” she said. “Our mandate was, how do we make it super-simple for our clients?”