John founded John Shell Associates, Inc. in 1982 in the middle of a recession and with no experience in the industry. But his background in public accounting and private industry—combined with some old-fashioned determination, persistence, and hard work—served him well. Today, the firm is one of the premier financial recruiting companies in the state.

A native of South Carolina, John studied accounting at Clemson University—not the career choice you might expect for someone who was a disc jockey, sports reporter, news reporter, and play-by-play baseball broadcaster at a Top 40 radio station in Tennessee during high school and college. Nonetheless, after graduating in 1976, John joined the audit staff of Price Waterhouse in Columbia and later served as Audit Supervisor and Director of Internal Audit for The Seibels Bruce Group, Inc. He is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of CPAs and the South Carolina Association of CPAs.

John is passionate about giving back to his community and his alma mater. He serves on the Senior Advisory Board for the College of Business and Behavioral Science at Clemson, the Board of Directors of the American Association of Finance & Accounting, the Board of Directors of Food for the Soul of Kershaw County, and as an active member of Lyttleton Street United Methodist Church and the Camden Sertoma Club. He and his wife, Claire, have two children.