PALO ALTO, Calif. – Three veterans of the casual dating business have left established American industry leader FriendFinder Networks to launch a U.S. division of European competitor UpForIt Networks.

Sean Christian, Charlyn McNamara and Joe Suzuki will operate from a California base as they oversee UpForIt’s North American operations. The three executives spent a combined total of more than 30 years in the FriendFinder organization.

Christian, who possesses 13 years’ experience in forging affiliate relationships and strategic industry partnerships, will serve as executive vice president of business development.

McNamara, who has been named executive vice president of marketing, also brings 13 years of experience to the team. She has managed and developed media buying networks and directed affiliate and keyword marketing efforts.

Suzuki served for more than 10 years as lead developer, analytics manager and vice president for FriendFinder division Medley Online Marketing. He will serve as executive vice president of business operations for UpForIt’s U.S. branch.

UpForIt, based in Guernsey, Channel Islands, operates adult-dating websites aimed at consumers in Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Spain, the UK and the U.S. The company claims 12 million active members and offers an affiliate program ([url]http://affiliates.upforitnetworks.com/[/url]) paying up to $120 per sign-up or 90 percent recurring revenue share.