From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishfrom the chairman/president/top etc downwardsfrom the chairman/president/top etc downwardsused to mean that people of all levels in an organization, country etc are affected by something Everyone from the chairman downwards is taking a pay cut. → downwards
Examples from the Corpus
from the chairman/president/top etc downwards• As the system empties, open all the radiator air vents, working from the top downwards until the system is empty. 