Gruen was an academic entrepreneur initiating important projects such as a series of reviews of Australian economics, a survey of the Australian economy by the Brookings Institution and the foundation of the Centre for Economic Policy Research. His talents were particularly well suited to identifying and motivating talent and to attracting it to the Centre. As an administrator, he was responsible for hiring and encouraging many of Australia's best-known academic economists. Many were somewhat to the left of centre, though few trenchantly so, but for Gruen one's position on the political spectrum was never a pre-requisite. Indeed, he was a great believer in people having their ideological world view challenged. He hired Bob Gregory, Bruce Chapman, John Quiggin, Steve Dowrick and Cathy Baird, all of whom were exceptionally talented, productive and sensible.