The Duke-NUS was established in 2005 in a collaboration between the Duke University of the US and the National University of Singapore.
Nargolwala, 62, is currently chairman of Clifford Capital, which finances Singapore firms bidding for long-term projects overseas, 'The Straits Times' reported.
He has previously also led the Asian businesses of Bank of America, Standard Chartered Bank and Credit Suisse.
Nargolwala takes over from Tony Chew, 66, who retires on Monday after seven years with the school.
Duke-NUS enrolls 50 students a year. It has had 46 invention disclosures, 31 patents filed and more than 700 research publications to date.
