Sir Sam Jonah is to step down as non-executive chairman of Range...

Sir Sam Jonah is to step down as non-executive chairman of Range Resources (ASX:RRS, LON:RRL) at the end of November.

Graham Lyon, who joined the board in February 2014 as a non-executive director, will move into the chair when Jonah departs.

Lyon, a petroleum engineer, has more than 30 years' international experience, working at several private and listed companies.

"Graham is an outstanding candidate for the role of non-executive chairman and his extensive skills and experience make him the ideal person to lead the business through its next phase of evolution,” said Rory Scott Russell, chief executive of Range.

He also paid tribute to Jonah’s contribution, saying the chairman had helped build the company's extensive core acreage in Trinidad, its highly prospective exploration acreage in Puntland, and led Range's successful listing on AIM.

The market applauded the smooth succession and pushed the price of Range shares up 4.8% to 0.901p in early deals.