Monopoly champion leaves behind plastic property for real as he joins Savills

Two-time Australian Monopoly champion Leon Hechtman is the latest recruit for real estate company Savills.

He will join Savills as a project manager in the project management division, which plans and oversees projects and developments.

Hechtman will initially be involved with inner-Melbourne projects.

In 2009 he defended his position as then reigning champion in a tense game at the Eureka Skydeck, and his success secured him a spot at the world championships in Las Vegas.

He has also represented Australia in Tokyo.

He recommends avoiding Mayfair and Park Lane and instead focussing on Bow Street and neighbouring properties.

"They're the ones that the good players try and get their hands on," he told The Age in 2009.

Hechtman previously worked with Ubertas Properties, where he worked on large-scale residential projects including Rhapsody on St Kilda Road and 505 St Kilda Road.

Savills project management’s divisional director and state general manager Stuart Verrier was enthusiastic about Hechtman’s Monopoly talent.

“It takes a special sort of person and quite a deal of commitment to reach the top in any field of endeavour,” he says.

“Leon’s extensive project management experience makes him an outstanding fit for Savills project management team both for our immediate and long term requirements,” he says.