Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1889, Schell obtained his BSc from MIT in 1912.
[2] After his graduation Schell started his career in industry as operation manager for the American Locomotive Company in Rhode Island in 1912–13.
[2] In 1917, Schell became an assistant professor of business management at MIT, a role he served for ten years.
From 1921 to 1923 Schell participated in the Management Counsel of the American International Corporation.
And from 1924 to 1928 he was also assistant professor of industrial management at the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration.