Hawaiian Airlines President and CEO Mark Dunkerley said it will be up to the company’s 11-member board to decide whether it wants to add its largest shareholder — a Dallas-based investor — to its group of directors.

Zac Hirzel, the 36-year-old president of Hirzel Capital Management LLC, has requested a seat on Hawaiian’s board. Hirzel Capital recently became Hawaiian’s largest shareholder by accumulating a 10.8 percent stake in the company, worth $44.9 million.

"I can’t really talk how the board will consider Zac’s application," Dunkerley said Monday. "What I can tell you is that we’ve been in touch with Zac, and he’s obviously very supportive in the company and the direction it’s going in and the strategy that we’re adopting. He’s obviously eager to come join the board of directors, and the board is considering it."

Hirzel said from his Dallas office Monday that he had no immediate comment about his board request.

However, B. Riley & Co. Managing Director Norm Caris, who said Hirzel does business with his firm, supported Hirzel’s request to be added to the board.

"I support him. I know him. I think he’s one of the smartest money managers in the business," said Caris, a Kauai resident. "He has an impeccable track record, and he and his analysts have done more in-depth research in this company than anyone I’ve spoken to, including all the analysts who follow it. He would be a great addition to the board."

Hirzel, who buys and sells securities through B. Riley & Co., began accumulating shares of Hawaiian Air earlier this year. Dunkerley said the size of Hirzel’s stake isn’t a surprise.

"We have funds periodically take sizable chunks of our company, so it’s not unheard of by any stretch of the imagination," Dunkerley said. "We routinely have funds between the 5 and 10 percent level — roughly that size of shareholding in the company."

Hawaiian’s stock, which hit a 52-week high of $8.05 Monday, closed the day up 3.5 percent, or 27 cents, at $7.97. Its shares are up 21.3 percent this year.