In 1978, he joined Bank of America in San Francisco as senior vice president and director of international economic research.

[4] President Reagan nominated Heller in 1986 as a member of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve System and he was confirmed unanimously by the U.S. Senate [5] At the Federal Reserve he served as the administrative governor and the chairman of the Committee on Bank Supervision and Regulation.

[2] As the Administrative Governor, he was responsible for the creation of the official flag of the Federal Reserve, which he designed with the help of his daughter Kimberly Allison.

[6] He joined VISA International in 1989 as executive vice president in charge of global finance, audit and risk management.

He is a past chairman of Marin General Hospital and a Staff Commodore of the San Francisco Yacht Club.