Heldenfels was appointed chairman of the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board by Gov. Rick Perry, and served on the board from July 2006 through December 2013. He also served as an appointee of Gov. George W. Bush on the Coastal Coordination Council from 1995 to 1998.

Heldenfels chairs the A&M PAC board and is a member of the Austin Chamber of Commerce Executive Committee and board. He is past chairman of the Texas A&M Twelfth Man Foundation, past president of the Texas Good Roads Transportation Association, and Past Chairman of the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute. Heldenfels is a past chairman of the Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi Foundation and Corpus Christi Chamber of Commerce, where he helped initiate support for tort reform in the Coastal Bend, as well as the creation of a four-year university within the Texas A&M University System.

Heldenfels received a bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University in 1979.